Interview: Cecília Malaguti do Prado, Responsible for Trilateral Technical Cooperation with International Organizations of the ABC

In an interview with the RAES platform, Cecília comments that one of the priority objectives of RAES, promoted by the Government of Brazil, through the ABC, the National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE) and with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is the establishment of sustainable school feeding programmes in the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cecília also says that school feeding has become fundamental since the strategic decision to establish partnerships with international organizations to promote Trilateral South-South Cooperation. “In 2009, after the approval of the school feeding law by the Brazilian Government, school feeding became a strategic axis of Trilateral South-South Cooperation, in particular with FAO”, she assesses.

“The theme of school feeding added to family farming and the governance of public policy has become the basis of the three pillars of the Brazilian Government’s work in the area of ​​food and nutritional security together with FAO and other international organizations”. Below, the full interview.

What is the importance of an increasingly consolidated and articulated network of countries?

Our platform has had a long construction process. And, during the challenging moment that imposed the pandemic, the virtual environment was fundamental for us to continue the discussions about the good cooperation practices that the countries make available in South-South Cooperation projects. In this specific case, with FAO. So, the Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES) proved to be very important so that there was no rupture in the dialogue process among countries during the pandemic.

RAES was essential in this process and this platform, which is increasingly being improved, will be a tool available to countries. We know that nothing will replace the exchange of face-to-face experiences, but the platform and the strengthening of a school feeding network must last and be promoted.

Why has Brazil made so much effort to implement and strengthen the RAES over the last few years?

A network presupposes that the countries that compose it have a common objective. If the common objective is going to have an impact on the development plans of the countries, nothing more logical than seeking to strengthen the implementation of a structure that is available to all countries in the region.

That is the purpose of this cooperation: to support the development plan of the countries seeking their sustainability and full development. We believe that school feeding is crucial for the development of countries. That is why Brazil continues to strive for better, more comprehensive, more focused and efficient action within the scope of the RAES.

In your opinion, what are the advantages of Brazilian technical cooperation in school feeding, not only for partner countries, but also for public policies in Brazil? What have we learned from these experiences over the years?

We believe that, when sharing a Brazilian experience, there is the possibility of a critical analysis by the partner who is there. This exchange is very important so that we can also use it to improve our own instruments. It’s always good to hear different realities, challenges that other countries are going through. This feeds the reflection process on that instrument and is fundamental for the improvement of any initiative, be it a programme, a policy, an experience. This brings mutual benefits.

Our principles of South-South Cooperation bring the advantage that, when sharing, we also receive this reaction so that we can not only improve our instruments but also ensure that Brazil is present and that the Cooperation becomes an extension of the Brazilian foreign policy.

It is always remembered, by all our directors, the foundation of article 4 of the Federal Constitution, that the role of the Brazilian government is to support the development of peoples. And this is based on this very important milestone that is our Constitution.

It has been 14 years since the Brazilian Technical Cooperation is being carried out together with FAO and with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. What aspects would you highlight that make this modality of Trilateral South-South Cooperation innovative and successful?

I can say that the answer is in this document that we are launching about the benefits and advances of this partnership. When the Brazilian Government decided to consolidate and move forward in building a relationship with international organizations within the scope of South-South Cooperation, it was to allow us to expand our operations and our performance in cooperation. Based on this partnership, we could serve a greater number of demands, and also to deepen our initiatives, complementing the various bilateral projects we already had in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.

This partnership proved to be very fruitful in the deepening of activities. We still have some challenges with regard to the responsibilities of the parties involved, the recognition of all actors, a clear understanding of the partners and balancing the protagonism of all parties.

But, if we were to make an assessment of when we started, back in 2008, with the framework agreement between Brazil and FAO to establish this partnership, we achieved enormous progress in the construction of this tool and this new type of cooperation. And this is very clearly portrayed in the document on the 14 years of our cooperation launched at the 37th FAO Regional Conference for Latin America.

What is the importance of RAES now having a platform available in several languages? What does this mean in terms of future actions?

The importance is enormous and fundamental. Interested parties will only have access to information if it is in the language they recognize. When the Brazilian Government expanded the number of countries with which it operated, the first step we took was to secure a translation center at the Brazilian Cooperation Agency.

We know that the concern to speak the other’s language is a demand that must be met. The relationship will only be fluid if the two parties have this linguistic connection. With this, we will be able to advance in our common goal: to have all 33 LAC countries with sustainable school feeding programmes. If that is the objective, we have to disseminate and transmit this information in all the languages ​​that the continent speaks. It is fundamental to listen and speak the language of the other, to be open and prepared for it.

What will be the best results that this platform can bring?

Our ideal is for all countries in the region to be part of the Network and, in this locus, there should be an exercise to discuss short, medium and long-term goals, so that we can identify and select the strategies and priorities that we must pursue.

These are strategies that must have different phases, and may have different extensions, one more momentary, others more gradual, which evolve gradually, ensuring that all countries can have sustainable school feeding programmes. We must bring these discussions under the umbrella of the Network.