A “Via Crucis” para a implantação do serviço de inspeção municipal em municípios maranhenses: desafios, operacionalização, manutenção e inserção social dos agricultores familiares por meio do acesso a mercados

Abstract

The lack of human resources with specific training to carry out the implementation procedures of the Municipal Inspection Service – SIM contributes to the low insertion of animal protein from family farming in formal markets, showing the increasing need for support from public authorities so that public policies achieve the desired result. Therefore, the objective of the study was to evaluate the obstacles and propose alternatives for the implementation of the Municipal Inspection Service (SIM) in municipalities in Maranhão, focusing on the challenges, operationalization, maintenance and access to markets. To this end, the study construction process was divided into three stages, starting with the situational survey of the SIM in the state of Maranhão, followed by the identification of the perception of the executors and managers of policies/programs for the commercialization of family farming products on the main obstacles that impede the implementation, operationalization and maintenance of the SIM and ending with the preparation of a Technical Manual entitled “Removing bureaucracy from SIM Implementation: manual for managers and technicians”. In the first stage of the study, a retrospective documentary bibliographical research was carried out, through consultation of reports and databases, electronic and physical from the State Agency for Agricultural Defense of Maranhão, referring to the years 2012 to 2021. In the second stage, it was applied a semi- structured questionnaire for 44 managers/executors of policies to support the commercialization of family farming products, in which the variables analyzed were divided into two blocks of questions: (i) characteristics and functions of managers/executors of policies/programs; and, (ii) level of knowledge about SIM, ending with the main difficulties in inserting animal protein in institutional markets. To prepare the manual, which constituted the third stage of the work, a bibliographic survey was carried out on the topic and using simple language, the content of the e-Book was organized into six modules, aiming to clarify the main doubts of the actors involved, identified during the work. The results obtained show that: i) SIM is absent in most municipalities in Maranhão and in those that are present, its fragility can be seen, which can compromise the quality of animal protein inserted in institutional markets; ii) There is a need for public policies for its implementation, accompanied by greater attention from the state public authorities so that, together with market access policies, they can boost the economy of the municipalities of Maranhão; iii) The implementation of these policies and programs is still institutionally individualized, which, combined with the interviewees' little knowledge about food regulatory policies, can be included in the obstacles to the insertion of animal protein in the Maranhão institutional market. It is concluded that the technical product generated, due to its didactic and guiding nature, can increase the number of municipalities with the SIM implemented and, consequently, contribute significantly to public policies to strengthen family farming, food security and sustainable local development. can have a transformative effect on the quality of life of families and the environment in which they live