“Agribusiness is one of the most admired sectors (68%) among Brazilian respondents, second only to the Health sector…”
Paulo Rovai is a consultant, and professor of agribusiness management and marketing at the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing – ESPM (College of Advertising and Marketing), graduated and postgraduate in administration from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation.
Paulo Rovai, professor at ESPM
It is important for the participants of Agribusiness in Brazil to understand what Brazilians really think about the sector. This perception affects all links that are part of the many chains of Agribusiness, representing the vision of consumers, collaborators, investors, suppliers, distributors, legislators, influencers, etc. For example, if a professional does not have a positive perception of Agribusiness, they may decide to work in any other segments, and this loss of talent can be very harmful.
Despite the importance of this issue, until recently there was no nationwide research on the topic, nor public data on Brazilians’ perceptions about Agribusiness. There were only private researches/surveys, with limited access to contractors and not open to everyone in the market. For this reason, the project “Perceptions About Agribusiness. What Brazilians Think” was created. It is an initiative of the “Todos à Uma Só Voz” Movement, which seeks to generate and disseminate quality knowledge and stimulate empathy among the urban population about the countryside and the farmers.
A survey was carried out pertaining to the Brazilians’ perceptions about Agribusiness between October of 2021 and September of 2022, by a group composed of professionals with executive and academic experience. The survey’s questionnaire was applied to a national sample, with 4,215 interviews, made to represent Brazilian society. This sample followed the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) quotas for gender, age, social class (by family income range) and geographic regions and with methodological parameters, enabling the survey to be transformed into academic and scientific papers.
Survey results
Agribusiness is among the most admired sectors (68%) among Brazilian respondents, second only to the Health sector. The image that people most associate with Agribusiness in Brazil is Food (78%). The research also shows that 43% of those interviewed have great involvement with agribusiness, and the sector is considered very important for the day-to-day life of this profile – those who are close to the sector due to having a family member working in agribusiness or who have already worked in the sector. Of all the interviewed people, 24% have “medium knowledge” and “medium involvement” with agribusiness and 33% represent the profile furthest from Agribusiness because they have low involvement and knowledge about the sector.
The majority of the 4,215 people that were interviewed declared having a positive attitude towards agribusiness. Those who have worked or have relatives who work in agribusiness tend to evaluate the sector more positively: 80% and 75%, respectively.
The group that is distant or unfavorable to the sector represents a significant portion of the population (33%). This group is made up of 51% of respondents aged 15 to 29: a younger audience that represents the consumers of the future. This issue reinforces the importance – and urgency – of agribusiness communicating with the urban population and showing the reality of the sector.
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