A study published in Cadernos de Saúde Pública links a lack of income and retirement benefits to the high prevalence of the problem in 14 communities in Salvaterra, on Marajó Island
Food insecurity affected 88.9% of quilombola families in Salvaterra, on Marajó Island (PA), in 2021. The data, presented in a study published in Cadernos de Saúde Pública (CSP), highlights the extent of food vulnerability in traditional communities in the Brazilian Amazon and reinforces the relationship between income, social protection, and access to food.
The study assessed 434 families from 14 quilombola communities in the municipality and found that more than half of the households were experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity. Among the participants, 33.1% were severely food insecure, 21.4% were moderately food insecure, and 34.3% were mildly food insecure.
According to the authors, the results must be understood in light of the historical inequalities that characterize these territories: “The discussion of food insecurity in quilombola communities is challenging, as it is shaped by a historical process defined by the confrontation of territorial threats and the struggle for concrete public policies, which interfere with access to traditional foods; all these aspects are reflections of racism.
The study was conducted between June and July 2021, a period following the first wave of COVID-19 and marked by the effects of weakened social protection policies. Although the pandemic has exacerbated the difficulties faced by various populations, the authors point out that the situation they encountered reveals a structural problem: “The COVID-19 health emergency highlighted—but did not necessarily alter—the pre-existing condition of food vulnerability,” they state in the article’s discussion.
Income and Retirement as Key Factors
This cross-sectional study used the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA) to classify households and employed multinomial logistic regression models to identify factors associated with food insecurity. The results show that the absence of retirement income was among the factors most strongly associated with food insecurity: households without this benefit were twice as likely to experience mild food insecurity and five times more likely to experience moderate to severe food insecurity, compared to food-secure households.
Per capita household income also proved to be a determining factor. Households living on up to R$194.46 per person were nine times more likely to experience moderate-to-severe food insecurity, and those in the range between R$194.47 and R$366.33 were up to four times more likely, always compared to households with higher per capita income. Belonging to economic classes B/C—an indicator of greater consumption capacity—acted as a protective factor, reducing the likelihood of moderate-to-severe food insecurity by 21%.
For the authors, this set of findings confirms that “income and its composition are the main factors associated with food insecurity” among the Quilombola families studied.
A Portrait of Historical Inequality
Although economic factors were the main ones associated with this outcome, the study emphasizes that food insecurity in Quilombola communities cannot be explained solely by insufficient income.
The authors argue that these territories are subject to historical processes of exclusion, land conflicts, and threats to traditional food production methods. In this context, they highlight that subsistence agriculture contributes to environmental preservation but faces threats related to land rights.
The article also points out that the expansion of rice monoculture in Quilombola areas of Marajó is replacing traditional agricultural practices and affecting the availability of natural resources. As the authors describe, this process “replaces family farming with the capitalist production logic of large estates, contaminating land and water with pesticides,” forcing families to rely on the sale of their labor and on cash transfer programs to secure food.
Public Policies and Possible Solutions
The authors point to the Aquilomba Brasil Program, established in 2023 by the federal government, as a possible avenue for addressing the problem, since it prioritizes sustainable production, income generation, and food security among its objectives. They emphasize, however, that the effectiveness of this and other policies depends on communities’ access to information and the infrastructure provided by municipal authorities and quilombola social organizations.
In conclusion, the article notes that the prevalence of food insecurity observed in Salvaterra reflects “structural and racist inequality” faced by quilombola communities and argues that overcoming this situation depends both on guaranteeing territorial rights and on strengthening social protection policies.