Social Learning and Paulo Freire Concepts for Understanding Food Security Cases in Brazil

Stefan Sieber,Katharina Löhr,Crystal Tremblay,Juliano Borba,Michelle Bonatti

doi:10.3390/agriculture11090807

Abstract

Food insecurity is a wicked, complex, and critical problem. Although evidence supporting a wide range of assertions regarding the outcomes of social learning is still being investigated, its potential to improve food security challenges is growing. Nonetheless, more work is needed to understand when and how social learning-oriented approaches are effective in food security situations. We address this gap by investigating how elements of social learning and Freire’s key concepts are exemplified in existing real-world experiences of food security in rural communities. The case studies in Brazil, Community Seed Banks in Paraíba State, in the northeast and Biodiversity Kit in Guaraciaba, Santa Catarina State, in the south, are examples of small farmers facing and overcoming their limit-situation of food insecurity through celebrating, planting, and saving traditional seeds (landraces). A mixed-methods approach was applied based on semi-structured interviews and a literature review. The key findings show that local initiatives based on the interconnections of social learning and Freire´s concepts have improved food security in two cases. The practice of landrace rescue as a food security strategy is strengthened through a culture of closeness and solidarity, through values that are celebrated in the festivities, community meetings, and other exchanges of experiences. Applications of our conceptual framework in operational interventions show clear potential for generating the necessary changes for a more sustainable world, specifically in food security and sovereignty projects, as described in the cases studies.

Highlights

Food insecurity is a wicked, complex, and critical problem
More work is needed to understand when and how a social learning-oriented approach is effective in food security situations. We address this gap by investigating how elements of social learning can be exemplified in existing real-world experiences of food security in rural communities
How Elements of Social Learning Can Be Exemplified in Existing Real-World Experiences of Food Security in Rural Communities?. The analysis of both cases reveals that farmers have self-managed their agricultural production, without depending on the government or markets, to access seeds at the right time for planting through community engagement, capacity building, and interactive learning [20,21]. This process can be directly associated with the four social learning components and Freire s concepts presented in our conceptual framework (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

The specific definition can vary, food security is widely defined as the access to enough food to supply the energy needed for all family members to live healthy, active, and productive lives [1]. It comprises four interconnected aspects—food availability, food access, food utilization, and food stability. Despite gains in global agricultural productivity, the lack of food security persists in many regions of the world [2]. In Latin America and the Caribbean, hunger increased to 47.7 million people in 2019, after five years of a continuous rise [3]. Brazil left the FAO hunger map in 2014, there is a serious risk it will return due to a combination of factors, including recession, unemployment, corruption, cutbacks in social programs, freezing of social investments, poverty, concentration of wealth, and concentration of land [4]

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