Focalização e Cobertura do Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA): avaliação de sua eficácia nas regiões brasileiras

Abstract: Conception and the practice of public policies and government programs have been highlighted in the Brazilian public administration. However, the initiatives to evaluate policies are still rare and incipient. We aim to evaluate the efficiency of food acquisition Program (PAA), classifying the Brazilian municipalities according to the level of tendency to implement this public policy. In order to do this, two indicators with seven variables were elaborated that incorporates both the propensity to food insecurity from local population and local familiar agriculture access to the market. Moreover, we estimated the coverage level of the program in Brazilian regions. We used multivariate statistical techniques Cluster analysis to identify groups and Discriminant analysis to validate them. As result, it was possible to identify four groups of program demand with distinct characteristics significantly validated by discriminant analysis. The group with highest demand of program actions is formed by municipalities with significant presence of family farmers, low economic dynamism and high risk of food security. They are mostly located in the Northeastern and Northern areas. Interestingly, we noted that the PAA has focused its actions in these municipalities. However, the level of coverage of the program is still incipient. Finally, the coverage rate based on regions is still uneven, indicating that some regions have been rejected, especially in North and Northeast of Brazil.