School feeding programs in Latin America are having a positive impact on children's well- being and are fostering local development when food is sourced from family farmers, UN officials said Friday, quoting a study.

The UN study, A Panorama of School Feeding and the Possibilities for Direct Purchases from Family Farming -- Case Studies in Eight Countries, indicates that these programs promote school attendance and bolster the learning process.

The study involved Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru, with support from the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Program, which is aimed at helping countries achieve various Millennium Development Goals.

FAO stands for the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The eight countries which took part in the study showed interest in sourcing food from family farmers to advance local development, said the officials.

"This is a triple-win approach: it secures quality food for students of public schools, promotes consumption of fresh and healthy food, and opens new markets and the possibility of higher incomes for family farmers while boosting local development," said FAO director-general, Jose Graziano da Silva.

The various programs examined by the study include 18 million students of different ages and educational levels, with a combined budget of approximately 940 million U.S. dollars, representing an investment of 25 dollars per student each year.

The study found that governments' commitment to school meal programs has grown, but notes that appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks are required to make it easier for small local producers to supply food to government networks.

"The study shows that tackling the challenges of school feeding programs requires the involvement of various actors, including governments, parliamentarians, international organizations, private sector, the educational community and civil society," said Najla Veloso, coordinator of FAO's regional work in this area.

Given the advances shown by the study on school feeding programs, FAO and the government of Brazil are stressing the need to translate the political commitment into concrete school feeding policies and institutions, to guarantee the quality and nutritional value of food in schools, the officials added. Endi

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