Families produce healthy food in Minas Gerais

Published on Wednesday, 29/06/2011 – 20:18

The struggle in Minas Gerais has already guaranteed victories for the people affected by dams, mainly in the productive area. Among the achievements is the participation in the Program of Food Purchase (PAA), the setting up of greenhouses for growing vegetables and the participation in the project of building cisterns in the semi-arid areas of Minas Gerais. The goal is to improve life quality and to strengthen the organization of the families in different communities of the state.

These projects are part of a proposal of the social movements, among them the MAB, of guaranteeing food sovereignty for the Brazilian people. The idea is that the agricultors produce accessible and healthy (free of pesticides) food, whether the consumer is in the countryside or in the city.

“We are strengthening the production of the affected by dams in the choice on how, what and when to plant, or where to sell, in a manner that the project we propose is totally opposite to that of capital, which takes shape in the agribusiness, turning food into merchandise, using extremely high quantities of poisons/pesticides/chemicals without any kind of regard for the soil, the rivers, animals and especially for the agricultors’ life”, says Cauê Melo, activist responsible for the progress of the projects in the state.

Benefitted Regions

In the region of Ponte Nova, in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais, 31 affected families delivered the second batch of food for schools and organizations which shelter people in need in the cities. José Gilberto Clemente Frade, affected by the Granada dam and rural producer is one of the benefitted by the projects of the Movement. “The PAA is a facilitated way of sale of the production with fair pay, and what’s more is that it is a great satisfaction to have the possibility to provide food for educational and charity organizations”, says the agricultor.

Also in the Zona da Mata, families affected by the Fumaça dam are growing vegetables in greenhouses. These are built in joint effort with the aid of a fund donated by the community itself. The capacity of the greenhouse is of 800 heads of lettuce, which are sold R$0,90 a piece. “There is the use of material available in the region, especially bamboo and wood, so as to keep the costs low, therefore a greenhouse costs an average of R$500”, says Claudiano, affected by the dam of Fumaça.

In the northern region of the state, the affected by the Berizal dam started the first part of the project of constructing 178 cisterns in the semi-arid of Minas Gerais. “The organized families in MAB used group work to dig the hole, besides, the qualified construction workers came from the communities themselves”, tells Francisca Maria Sousa, affected by the dam of Berizal.

The perspective is to increasingly expand the number of families in such programs with the purpose of strengthening families and the Movement of the People Affected by Dams in the construction of a Popular Project for Brazil.