Agriculture in Chile

Agriculture in Chile encompasses a wide range of different activities due to its particular geography, climate, geology and human factors.

Some major agricultural products of Chile include grapes, apples, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, beans, beef, poultry, wool, fish and timber.

[1] Due to its geographical isolation and strict customs policies, Chile is free from diseases such as Mad Cow, fruit fly and Phylloxera, this plus being located in the southern hemisphere (having quite different harvesting times compared to the Northern Hemisphere) and its wide range of agriculture conditions are considered Chile's main comparative advantages.

However, the mountainous landscape of Chile limits the extent and intensity of agriculture so that arable land corresponds only to 2.62% of the total territory.

[4] Chile has a long history in the production of wine, with roots dating back to the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors introduced Vitis vinifera vines to the region.

During the early 1980s, the Chilean wine industry underwent a renaissance with the introduction of stainless steel fermentation tanks and the use of oak barrels for aging.

[2] Norte Chico has a semi-arid climate that limits agriculture to the Transverse Valleys, namely; Choapa, Copiapó, Elqui, Limarí and Aconcagua.

Most of Chile's premium wine regions depend on irrigation to sustain vineyards, the necessary water formed by melting snow caps in the Andes.

For the rest of Chile's wine regions, the Coastal Ranges serve as a buffer from the current and also act as a rain shadow.

[14] Wheat cultivation, cattle farming, silviculture and salmon aquaculture are the main agricultural activities of Zona Sur.

[4] While the area devoted to traditional crops and natural pasture has tended to shrink in Araucanía, there has been an increase in artificial and improved pasturelands.

This supports a substantial mass of livestock, including beef cattle, swine, sheep, and horses, and abundant production of milk and by-products.

[citation needed] Cultivation and production of hazelnuts in Chile is centred in the south-central regions from Maule to Los Lagos.

[citation needed] Evidence ranging from historical records, local agriculturalists, and DNA analyses strongly supports the hypothesis that the most widely cultivated variety of potato worldwide, Solanum tuberosum tuberosum, is indigenous to Chiloé Island and has been cultivated by the local indigenous people since before the coming of the Spanish.

[18][19] At the time of the arrival of the first Spaniards to Chile the largest indigenous population concentration was in the area spanning from Itata River to Chiloé Archipelago.

In Chile Spanish settlers managed to continue to exploit indigenous labour under slave like conditions despite the implementation of the encomienda.

[26] The initial Spanish settlers of Chiloé Archipelago (conquered in 1567[27]) attempted to base their economy on gold extraction and a "hispanic-mediterranean" agricultural model.

[28] The collapse of the Spanish cities in the south following the battle of Curalaba (1598) meant for the Spaniards the loss of both the main gold districts and the largest indigenous labour sources.

[29] After those dramatic years the colony of Chile became concentrated in the central valley which became increasingly populated, explored and economically exploited.

[38] Initially Chilean latifundia could not meet the wheat demand due to a labour shortage, so had to incorporate temporal workers in addition to the permanent staff.

The Guerra a muerte phase was particularly destructive for the Biobío area and ended only to see a period of outlaw banditry (e.g. Pincheira brothers) occur until the late 1820s.

[49] The "cycle" came to an end in the late 1870s due to the increased technification of agriculture in the United States and Argentina plus the competition of Russia and Canada.

[citation needed] Until the mid-19th century more than 80% of Chilean population remained rural working in agriculture or mining and was to a large degree self-sufficient to produce articles of consume.

This situation changed after the Pactos de Mayo were signed in 1902 and the inauguration of the Transandine Railway in 1909, making war unlikely and trade across the Andes easy.

Argentine winegrowers association, Centro Vitivinícola Nacional, dominated by European immigrants protested vigorously against the free trade agreement since Chilean wines were considered a threat to the local industry.

The complaints of Argentine wine growers in conjunction with that of Chilean cattle farmers represented in Sociedad Nacional de la Agricultura ended up tearing down the plans for a free trade agreement.

[59] Tierra del Fuego and much of Magallanes Region did also experienced a fast growth of the sheepherding industry since the 1880s accompanied by colonization of the sparsely populated Patagonian grasslands.

[64] McBride, a British who visited Chile in the 1930s, is reported to have been "astounded" to see haciendas with "agricultural methods that reminds of ancient Egypt, Greece or Palestine.

[68] That plan allowed CORFO to develop investments in dairy plants, refrigerated slaughterhouses, sugar refineries and transport infrastructure.