President Piñera signs bill to create the Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Ministry: “Every day, all around the world there is growing demand for the foods that we produce here in Chile"

On Wednesday, the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, signed a bill to create the Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Ministry. The goal is to promote activity in a sector that is one of Chile’s key engines of economic growth.

The bill will introduce greater competition into the agricultural sector and modernize the ministry’s portfolio by transferring over the entirety of Fisheries and Aquaculture from the Economy Ministry, as well as new responsibilities assigned to the Chilean Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) to control and ensure the food production chain.

“We are committed to fully developing the rural sector of our country,” said the President during a visit to a family of farmers in the town of María Pinto together with de Agricultural Minister Antonio Walker.

The new institution will be tasked with proposing and implementing policies, plans, programs and rules to develop the country’s livestock, crop, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry sectors.

This reorganization is designed to transform the Agriculture Ministry into a flexible and modern body in tune with current needs and demands, ready to help those sectors included in its portfolio take on a predominant role in the Chilean economy, thereby improving the quality of life for all.

 “We will have a strong ministry able to help farmers take advantage of our country’s great potential, especially small farmers,” said President Piñera.

The new ministry will have two Undersecretariats, one for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and one for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

“Every day, all around the world there is growing demand for the foods that we produce here in Chile.  We want our fruit, our meat, our wines, our fish to be served at dinner tables in every corner of the globe,” said the President.

President Piñera’s Government has set a goal of transforming Chile into a food production powerhouse. To achieve this, the country has negotiated trade agreements with the world’s major economies (29 agreements with 65 countries), representing 67% of the world’s population and 88% of global GDP. In addition, it has set very high sanitary and phytosanitary controls. 

Forestry, agriculture and livestock exports totaled US$16.7 billion in 2019 and recorded an increase of close to 4% in exports to China, Chile’s largest trading partner.  As a result, the agriculture sector accounts for approximately 750,000 jobs, representing close to 10% of the Chilean workforce.