ABSTRACT
Economic assessment of Chilean agricultural land use, labor demand and input requirements using the Delphi method. Part B: Vegetables for fresh consumption

Adolfo Donoso1*, Jorge González2, and José Ignacio Lagos1
 
Among the main food items purchased by households, the market for fresh vegetables plays a strategic role in food security in Chile by ensuring access to healthy and affordable diets. This study aimed to analyze the dynamics of fresh vegetable markets and prices in Chile between 2017 and 2021, with a focus on productivity, farm structure, agrochemical use, and the implications for food system resilience. Using a modified Delphi method, we generated technical-economic estimates that characterize production variability, labor requirements, and agrochemical input intensity. The results reveal high year-to-year volatility in cultivated area, especially in crops with a large number of smallholder farms. Between 2017 and 2021, domestic fresh vegetable production increased from 892482 to 1073472 t, while exports represented only 4.9% and 4.3% of total traded vegetables in those years, underscoring the sector’s primary orientation toward domestic consumption. In 2021, the average cultivated area per farm was 0.95 ha for vegetables, compared to 6.39 ha for fruit orchards. Swiss chard, for example, was reported on 983 ha across 3217 farms, chili pepper on 633 ha across 2056 farms, and beetroot on 1321 ha across 2266 farms. Estimated pesticide loads ranged from 10.7 to 15.3 kg active ingredient (ai) per hectare in alliaceous crops and from 2.1 to 9.4 kg ai ha-1 in solanaceous crops such as potato and tomato, with a weighted average of 3.16 to 5.01 kg ai ha-1, aligning with international benchmarks. The sector comprises 109280 fresh vegetable producers, mostly smallholder farmers, but despite population growth and rising retail prices, the total cultivated area has remained relatively unchanged, highlighting structural challenges to sustainable intensification. The findings emphasize the environmental and economic pressures faced by the vegetable sector and its critical function in supplying domestic markets, reinforcing the need for territorial and policy strategies to strengthen food security.
Keywords: Agrochemicals, Delphi method, fresh vegetables, smallholder farmers, vegetable market.
1Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA La Platina, Santiago, Chile.
2Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA Quilamapu, Chillán, Chile.
*Corresponding author (adolfo.donoso@inia.cl).