The leadership of Brazil to reverse the anticipated failure of SDG 2 – Achieving zero hunger
Brazil’s President Lula recently announced the Global Alliance Against Hunger launch, scheduled to coincide with the G20 Leaders Summit, which he will preside over in November 2024. In his statement, Lula emphasised the importance of tackling hunger and poverty, which are closely intertwined.
This commitment relates to Brazil’s remarkable history in fighting against hunger at the national level. Between 1990 and 2015, the country nearly quartered the population living in extreme poverty and hunger, from 15% (22.3 million people) to less than 2% (4.2 million), according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This success demonstrates the strides achieved through acknowledging food security and nutrition as multifaceted challenges.
The Zero Hunger Program of the 2000s
In 2003, a year after assuming the Brazilian presidency, Lula launched the Zero Hunger Program to address hunger in the country. This programme included a range of public initiatives within diverse sectors of public action and associated ministries. It involved long-term interventions to tackle underlying causes such as inequality, poverty, and social exclusion, as well as short-term measures to ensure immediate access to food through regular and emergency programmes. The presidency also impulsed the reassembling and strengthening of the advisory body on food security to the presidency, the National Council for Food and Nutrition Security (CONSEA). This Council is responsible for liaising between the government and civil society on food and nutrition security and following up on the implementation of related public policies. Composed of two-thirds of civil society representatives, it embodies the framing of food sovereignty as the right of people to define their own food-related policies and strategies.
Moreover, this multi-sectoral approach involved collaboration among federal, state, and local governments. At the core of these initiatives was the Bolsa Família programme, which had an annual budget of approximately US$8 billion from 2010 to 2020 and offered financial assistance to 14 million families. This conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme is one of the largest of its kind globally, tying financial aid to health and education requirements such as school attendance and children’s immunisations. Apart from Bolsa Família, two other significant, budget-supported programmes were integral to this effort: the National Programme for Strengthening Family Farming (PRONAF), which provided loans to support rural farming, and the National School Feeding Programme, which supplied meals to schoolchildren across the country.
Besides the Zero Hunger Programme, food security was supported by evolving legal frameworks, a national policy program started in 2010 (National Food and Nutritional Security Policy), and further strengthening of institutions. In 2006, Brazil enacted the Organic Law of Food and Nutrition Security, which includes freedom from hunger and access to adequate food. By 2010, the right to food was recognised as a constitutional right. In summary, combining the policies and programmes with economic improvements—including higher minimum wages and reduced unemployment—resulted in significant reductions in poverty and hunger. By 2014, Brazil had officially exited the Hunger Map, having reduced poverty by a third and extreme poverty by more than half since 2003.
Levels of food insecurity in Brazil (2004 to 2018), % of population
Note:
– Food security: when people have regular and permanent access to good quality food in sufficient quantity;
– Moderate Food Insecurity (FI): when there is concern or uncertainty about access to food in the future and inadequate food quality;
– Severe FI: when there is a quantitative reduction in food and/or disruption in eating patterns resulting from lack of food only for the adults and children of the households, putting the individual’s health and well-being at grave risk
- Food security: when people have regular and permanent access to good quality food in sufficient quantity;
- Moderate Food Insecurity (FI): when there is concern or uncertainty about access to food in the future and inadequate food quality;
- Severe FI: when there is a quantitative reduction in food and/or disruption in eating patterns resulting from lack of food only for the adults and children of the households, putting the individual’s health and well-being at grave risk
Post-Lula Era and Emerging Challenges
After Lula’s first presidency (2003-2011), the overall situation regarding food safety and associated policies deteriorated. From 2015 to 2018, economic recession and political turmoil—including the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and the Petrobras corruption scandals—led to higher unemployment, increased extreme poverty, and cuts to social spending, including budget targeting food safety. Hunger and poverty gradually slipped from the government’s priorities. One key indicator of this shift was dismantling crucial institutions in President Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023). The CONSEA was suspended in 2019, and support for family farming, a critical resource for rural food security, was reduced, although this population shows a higher incidence of food insecurity. This included the closure of the Special Secretariat for Family Agriculture and Agrarian Development, which oversaw programmes like rural credits (PRONAF).
Food security in Brazil was severely compromised between 2014 and 2018, especially in the North and Northeast, where socioeconomic inequality is more pronounced. Households in these regions were four times more likely to experience severe food insecurity than wealthier South and Southeast regions. By the beginning of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic had further worsened the situation, leaving over 125 million Brazilians exposed to food insecurity, with 33 million suffering from severe hunger. Disparities across race and gender were also stark: rural areas and non-white households were hit hardest, and female-headed households faced the greatest food insecurity. The re-emergence of hunger underlined Brazil’s vulnerability to external shocks and its dependence on aid programmes like Bolsa Família. Nevertheless, with Lula’s re-election in 2023, Brazil renewed its focus on hunger and food security and committed to remaining off the Hunger Map at least until 2026. It reinstated a significant budget dedicated to Bolsa Familia, the National School Feeding Programme, support for family farming and food banks, and critical institutions, such as CONSEA. It also relaunched a national conference on food security to advise and monitor food security policies.
However, new challenges have emerged for food security in recent years. Brazil is experiencing a nutritional transition with more importance to highly processed diets, resulting in rising obesity rates, especially among low-income populations. In the past twenty years, the obesity rates nearly tripled, and now impacting more than 40 million Brazilians. The country is also facing the emergence of climate challenges, with significant changes in rainfall and temperature patterns, notably increasing floods and droughts. This year, for instance, has been marked by heavy rains and floods in Rio Grande do Sul, a central-producing state of rice (70% of national production) and soy. The floods affected family farming and agribusiness, impacting supplies throughout the country.
FAO Hunger Map: Prevalence of Undernourishment 2020-2022
Note: Undernourishment happens when an individual’s habitual food consumption is insufficient to provide the amount of dietary energy required to maintain a normal, active and healthy life.
Source: FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2023. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023. Urbanisation, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum. Data are available on FAOSTAT
Lessons from Brazil to the world
Brazil’s experience demonstrates that strong, targeted policies can profoundly reduce hunger and improve nutritional outcomes. Programmes like Bolsa Família have contributed to significant improvements, particularly for vulnerable children in regions like the Northeast. However, ultra-processed food is gaining importance, lowering the quality of household food consumed. Alongside a rights-based approach and cross-sectoral collaboration, Brazil’s experience highlights the need for policies that build resilience to external shocks and integrate the key emerging challenge of climate adaptation.
On the international stage, Brazil has long advocated for global cooperation on hunger. Since 2000, Brazil has spearheaded initiatives like the General Coordination of Humanitarian Cooperation and the Fight Against Hunger, supported international responses to food crises, and promoted South-South cooperation. Notably, Brazilian leadership has been recognised with the appointment of José Graziano da Silva as Director of the FAO from 2012 to 2019. The Global Alliance Foundation is focused on poverty eradication and zero hunger, based on principles such as open membership and action-driven focus. At the core of every action is a reference basket of evidence-based programmes and policy instruments that members should help fund and/or adapt and implement for other members based on a demand-driven approach. Brazil should also delve into the climate-food nexus to keep its leadership and, more importantly, ensure adequate and affordable food to its population.