Promoting family agriculture through procurement in Paraguay

In Paraguay, agriculture represented 17,9% of the GDP in 2017, with family agriculture representing 90% of all agricultural activity in the country. In 2015, the government decided to link poverty alleviation programmes in the agriculture sector with public procurement. In order to facilitate access to public procurement for these companies, the government carried out regulatory reforms. These reforms allowed procuring agencies to buy family agriculture products directly from the a producer registered in the National Registry of Family Agriculture. They also allowed procuring agencies to oblige suppliers to buy a minimum percentage of the contract value from family agriculture producers. The strategy started by connecting family agriculture to school feeding programs, and was later expanded to hospitals, penitentiaries, and other public agencies. In 2016, 16% of food procurement derived from family agriculture.