One of the main objectives of EcoBorborema, an organisation of family farmers in Brazil’s northern state of Paraiba, is helping with the commercialisation of their products, providing the local population with a wide range of healthy fruits and vegetables while ensuring farmers earn a higher income.
Orlando Soares Correia is currently in charge of some of the tasks that help them achieve these goals (such as co-ordinating farmers’ meetings or negotiating with the local authorities), and at the same time joins his fellow farmers at the weekly market fairs which take place in the municipalities of Campina Grande and Esperança.
Together with his wife, Joaceli, he brings mangoes, oranges and avocados and many different vegetables grown on their four-hectare agro-ecological farm.
EcoBorborema has been rewarded with a contract with PAA, Brazil’s food procurement programme, which guarantees them a fair price and distributes their products through social efforts such as the National School Feeding Programme.
Just as important, their work is being recognised by the growing number of people who buy their products directly at the market fairs in Campina Grande and in Esperança. Bom apetite!
Text: Adriana Galvão Freire