City Hall of Juiz de Fora buys R$818,000 worth of organic rice from the MST

In May, the city of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais, signed a contract worth BRL 818,140.00 with a cooperative linked to the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) for the purchase of 19,000 kilograms of organic rice, which should be supplied over eight months to supply schools in the municipal public network and in the Juiz de Fora partner network. The unit price for each 5 kg package of rice is R$ 43.06, equivalent to R$ 8.61/kg.

The high price caused repercussions on social media last week, after state deputy Isauro Calais (PSC) published that it would be possible to buy a common 5kg pack of rice in supermarkets in the city for a much lower price, below R$ 20.

“I’m going to the Public Ministry to denounce this great absurdity with the public money of Juiz de Fora, which is being handed over to the MST, PT and Margarida companions”, said the deputy. Margarida Salomão, whom Calais referred to, is the mayor of Juiz de Fora. She was also a federal deputy for the PT.

Daisy refuted the accusations. On her social networks, she shared a video in which the secretary of Agriculture and Supply of the municipality, Fabiola Paulino da Silva, states that the purchase of organic rice from the Cootap cooperative is within legal parameters and that the price is cheaper than the sold by other organic rice producers.

“Purchases are made through a public call, and are included and use resources from the Federal Government, through the National School Feeding Program (PNAE). This same program establishes the obligation of the municipality that purchases follow certain parameters, such as, in this specific case, the obligation to purchase from family producers, with priority given to agrarian reform settlements, traditional communities and quilombola communities,” said Fabiola, also citing a 2020 Ministry of Education resolution, which provides that purchases through of the PNAE must prioritize organic or agroecological foods.

“That’s why it makes no sense to compare the prices of organic rice with white rice, sold in supermarkets. A simple search on the networks allows you to confirm that the price of organic rice obtained in Juiz de Fora is five times lower than that sold by other brands “, he concluded.