AGRICULTURE


Only 7.3 percent of the area is agriculturally productive. Arable land is concentrated mostly in the Central Valley in central Chile. Agriculture in northern region is largely dependent on irrigation in areas that are, in fact, oases. Agriculture is mainly engaged in the production of cereals, fodder, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables, and fruit.

Much of the fruit is exported during the northern winter to the United States, Canada and Europe. Chile also produces and exports a large quantity of wine.

Livestock are raised, mainly in central Chile and the northern part of the southern region. Approximately 16 percent of Chile's area is classed as permanent grizing ground. Forests cover 11.4 percent of the area, mainly in the southern region, from which 18.5 million cubic meters of timber and pulp were produced in 1987.

Large estates (haciendas) occupy a substantial part of Chile's agricultural lands. These are remnants of the Spanish colonial period, when extensive land grants were made to army officiers and colonial officials. In early 1920s, nearly 90 percent of the farmland in central Chile was in large estates. Although no official land reform has taken place, many of these estates were broken up and sold as small farms. This process is still going on. However, much of the agricultural land is still cultivated by tenants or by hired labor; 13.6 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture.


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