Cargill's program supports the new generation of agricultural leaders.

With a focus on supporting a new generation of managers in agribusiness, Cargill has just graduated the third class of its Agribusiness Successors Program. Between August and December 2025, participants had access to relevant names in Brazilian agribusiness, including Cargill specialists from various areas and professors selected by the Institute for Research and Continuing Education in Economics and Business Management (Pecege), a partner of Esalq/USP. Created in 2023, the initiative has already trained more than 60 people. 

Aimed at Cargill's clients in Brazil, the Succession Program has academic direction from Pecege and directly addresses one of the sector's challenges: preparing a new generation to take on the challenges of the family business. “Cargill's operations in Brazil, which has just celebrated its 60th anniversary, are marked by this journey side-by-side with producers. We are attentive to their needs and want to contribute with solutions, further strengthening Brazilian agribusiness. Our Succession Program is pioneering and was designed to reinforce this partnership,” analyzes Paulo Sousa, president of Cargill in Brazil and of Agricultural Businesses in Latin America. 

The closing ceremony for the 2025 class, which included 18 participants, took place in December with a visit to the Santos Export Terminal, one of the main points in the Brazilian agricultural logistics chain. The group observed practical soybean and corn export operations, connecting the theoretical knowledge acquired throughout the program with the operational reality of agribusiness. 

The group also met with Paulo Sousa for an exchange of information and experiences, including an analysis of the responsibility of Brazilian agribusiness for the future of global food security. 

With in-person and online classes, the training involved 60 hours of content, covering essential topics such as macroeconomics, trading, agricultural derivatives, strategic planning, environmental management, negotiation, law, logistics, financing, and other relevant topics for the sector. 

Learning and networking 

Those who had the opportunity to participate in the program highlight that the experience adds knowledge and reinforces self-confidence, even for those already involved in the business, as is the case of administrator Vinicius Rossetto. His family, who were already dedicated to agriculture in Rio Grande do Sul, migrated to Maranhão in 2005, where they had been producing soybeans, corn, and sorghum since 1997. 

Despite having worked in companies in other sectors, Vinicius preferred to return to the farm to begin a professional development journey that started in 2014, working in the purchasing department. Vinicius, at 34 years old, recognizes the importance of a well-structured succession process and reinforces the need for preparation and planning. “This is of utmost importance! With the classes, we have the opportunity to observe problems and solutions that we face daily. I thank Cargill for the invitation,” he states.