Conditional Cash Transfers in the Amazon: From the Nutrition Transition to Complex Dietary Behavior Change

ABSTRACT

Nutrition transition theory describes a progressive substitution of local staples for industrialized processed foods in local diets, a process documented diversely across world regions, and increasingly observed in rural areas of the global south. Here we examine the role of conditional cash transfer programs, in particular the emblematic Brazilian Bolsa Família (BFP), in driving nutritional transition in rural areas of the Amazon. Based on ethnographic research with both participating and nonparticipating women in the Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve (SDR), our analysis integrates Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ), seasonal 24-hour food intake recalls, and stable isotope ratios in fingernails to examine dietary behavioral change. Contrary to dietary changes observed elsewhere in the Amazon, participation in the BFP is not associated with a significant substitution of local staples for industrialized processed foods in Amanã. While an increase in the consumption of some industrialized foods was observed, it has been selective and it has not changed the structure of diets. Factors such as social and cultural value of local staples, resident’s involvement with the SDR, their relationship with lake and upland forest and agricultural environments, and limited market access have buffered the expansion of industrialized processed foods as observed elsewhere.

KEYWORDS:

• Food
• family cash transfers
• conservation areas

Declaration of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Notes

1. The benefit amount received increases incrementally according to the number of children less than 17 years and pregnant women residing in the household. In January of 2014 at the time of this study, the basic BFP transfer for households in extreme poverty was R$70, with an addition of R$32 per child, and R$38 per adolescent or pregnant woman (up to five additions). If, after the additions, the total household income did not equal R$70 per capita, the household received a supplementary amount to reach this standard. Households with no children can participate without any conditions attached as long as they meet the income eligibility.

2. Figures from January of 2014, the period of initial fieldwork. Households making less than R$140 per capita were considered to be living in poverty, and less than R$70 in extreme poverty. In May of 2014, the criterion to determine extreme poverty changed to R$77 per capita (Decreto 8.232 2014), and in June of 2016 to the current figure of R$85 (Decreto 8.232 2016). The exchange rate used for January 1^st, 2014 (R$1 equals US$0.43) has changed drastically since (On January 1^st, 2018, R$1 was equal to US$0.30).

3. Article 20 of Law number 9.985 of July 2000.

4. Article 23 of Law number 9.985 of July 2000.

5. A list of these households was provided by the municipal Reference Center for Social Assistance (CRAS), responsible for managing the logistics of the BFP program at the municipal level.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [201929/2012-0];Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [23038.0007/2013-39];The National Science Foundation's Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences [BCS-1357325];Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo [2011/50345-9].