"Never have so many owed so much to so few." Thank you, Ney Bittencourt de Araújo
Publicado em 22/01/2026
Divulgação
Ray Goldberg (Harvard) and Ney Bittencourt de Araújo (Leader of Brazilian Agribusiness – in memoriam)
Published on January 16, 2026
Agriconscient Show Broadcast by Radio Eldorado Estadão-Brazil
*José Luiz Tejon
Translated/Copydesk by Teacher Francisco Barbosa Bardhal
Coincidence or not, in the week when the world's largest free trade agreement is being signed, we're also in the week that brings to our minds the leader who created the concept of Tropical Agribusiness in Brazil, Dr.Ney Bittencourt de Araújo, the undisputed leader of Brazilian tropical agriculture, who passed away exactly 30 years ago. Also strongly present now in 2026 is Dr Ray Goldberg, the leader who came up with the concept of agribusiness in the 1950s at Harvard, who's turning, in 2026, blessing100 years old!
Ney Bittencourt at Harvard
Around 50 years ago, a brilliant Brazilian agricultural engineer, Ney Bittencourt de Araújo, attended the Harvard Agribusiness Seminar in Boston, USA.
He returned lucid and aware of the inexorable future of the system—the complex dubbed Agribusiness in the United States—as the sum of movements within the food system, encompassing everything from pre-agricultural production to science, technology, inputs, etc. It also included the added value by the industrial sector to the commodities produced in the fields, reaching final consumers through commerce and services.
Agribusiness, therefore, translates the union of the links in a productive chain before, within, and beyond the farm gate.
This system, here in Brazil, was translated by Ney Bittencourt under the term "Agronegócio."
Ney Bittencourt Araújo passed away on January 14, 1996, and this week we dedicate our Agriconscient Show to the memory of this unique agrileader in Brazil.
If Dr. Ray Goldberg is the leader of the strategic vision for Global Agribusiness, Ney Bittencourt had the gift and intelligence to adapt this macro-system to Brazilian Agriculture within the planet's Tropical Belt.
Dr.Ney Bittencourt Legacy
The legacy of Ney Bittencourt de Araújo is vast: He was the managing director of Agroceres, founder of ABAG, inspiration behind Agrishow, and supporter of the pioneering academic institution that continues to this day at FIA USP (São Paulo University)—PENSA (Program for the Study of Agribusiness). Together with Dr. Décio Zylberstajn, Full Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Administration, and Accounting in the early 1990s, this resulted in a spectacular advancement and multiplication of agribusiness in Brazil, which went on to become a protagonist worldwide.
Today, when we talk about agronegócio, which accounts for about 30% of Brazil's GDP, we're talking precisely about the sum of the economic and financial movements that integrate all links before, within, and beyond the farm gate. And it is in the core of this scope of integration where the only formula for the prosperity of each link in this system resides: Either each link receives fair remuneration and value, or sooner than later, the most fragile link breaks weakening all the others in the same chain. Therefore, the union of the links in productive chains is vital, as totally opposed to division and polarization.
Ray Goldberg in Brazil
In 1990, Dr. Ray Goldberg came to Brazil, creating a fundamental historical milestone in his meeting with Dr. Ney Bittencourt. Present at that event was Grupo Estado, through the newspaper Estadão, Agência Estado, and Rádio Eldorado, recording and supporting that unique moment for Brazilian Agribusiness.
Thus, in current year, we have Dr. Ray Goldberg at Harvard turning 100, and the energy of our beloved leader, Dr. Ney Bittencourt Araújo, 30 years after his passing. And it's 36 years after the memorable meeting between the genius of the creator of Global Agribusiness and the expertise of the father of Tropical Agribusiness.
Ray & Ney: an eternal legacy
And at this special moment of signing the European Union-Mercosur agreement, more than ever! It's time to unite the world, not divide. At this moment, a new vital historical milestone for world commerce emerges.
Winston Churchill coined a phrase that we adopt for this week of the origins of Agribusiness: "Never have so many owed so much to so few."
Thank you, Ray. Thank you, Ney. The noble seed of your genius shall flourish, create, and strengthen ancestral bonds between Europe and South America. After all, we are relatives! And let's move forward with the EU & Mercosur agreement!
*Prof.Dr.José Luiz Tejon - PhD in Education Universidad de La Empresa/Uruguay; Academic Director Brazil+Tropical Belt Nations at International Agribusiness MBA Audencia France & Fecap Brazil; Master's degree in Art Education and History of Culture - Mackenzie University; Journalist and Publicist - Harvard, MIT and PACE/USA/ Insead in France; Specialization Academic Coordinator of Master's Science Food & Agribusiness Management at Audencia in Nantes/ France, and FECAP/Brazil; Managing Partner at Biomarketing and TCA International; Professional Head at Agri Anefac; Writer, author and co-author of 37 books; Agri Personality Award 2023/ABAG -100 Most Influential People in Agribusiness; Former director of Grupo Estadão, Agroceres and Jacto S/A; 2025 Award Agriworld Group.
