From ESG Compliance to Agribusiness Resilience: Stakeholder Trust and Sustainability Performance in Nigeria and Brazil

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) compliance is becoming increasingly important in agribusiness because the sector faces growing pressure from climate risks, food security concerns, sustainability disclosure requirements, stakeholder accountability, and value-chain disruptions. However, ESG is still often treated merely as a reporting obligation rather than as a strategic pathway for strengthening agribusiness resilience. This study develops a comparative conceptual–empirical synthesis to explain how ESG compliance may contribute to agribusiness resilience through stakeholder trust and sustainability performance in Nigeria and Brazil. Drawing on verified secondary literature, previous empirical studies, and institutional analysis, the study integrates the Resource-Based View, Stakeholder Theory, and Institutional Theory. The paper argues that ESG compliance becomes relevant to resilience when it is translated into credible governance practices, trusted by stakeholders, reflected in sustainability performance, and supported by enabling institutional conditions. Brazil illustrates a pathway in which ESG is increasingly linked to circular economy practices, stakeholder collaboration, corporate reputation, sustainability orientation, and agribusiness resilience. Nigeria illustrates a pathway in which ESG relevance depends largely on trust restoration, disclosure credibility, cooperative governance, risk management, and institutional strengthening. The study contributes to management and agribusiness scholarship by proposing an ESG–trust–performance–resilience framework for agribusiness systems in emerging economies. It also provides practical and policy implications for agribusiness firms, cooperatives, regulators, investors, and sustainability stakeholders seeking to move ESG beyond compliance toward credible resilience building.