Region de O’Higgins has launched the 2026 Fruit Industry Census, an initiative aimed at gathering strategic information on the productive reality of the regional agricultural sector.
The study, carried out by the Centro de Información de Recursos Naturales (CIREN) and funded by the Oficina de Estudios y Políticas Agrarias (ODEPA), will provide an updated and detailed characterization of the current state of the region’s fruit plantations, including crops such as blueberries, as well as information on species and varieties, production volumes, infrastructure, and fruit destinations, among other variables relevant to the industry.
Minister of Agriculture Jaime Campos highlighted that this census will not only provide valuable information on production, exports, and profitability, but will also help better target support measures and instruments aimed at strengthening regional agricultural development.
“Thanks to this census, we can obtain the necessary information that reflects not only the current agricultural reality of the region, but also the possibility of evaluating which future measures or policies we, as a ministry, should implement. In addition, it allows us to continue focusing the support, resources, and instruments that the Ministry of Agriculture has to promote agricultural development in this region,” stated the minister.
The survey will cover 33 municipalities across the region
The 2026 Fruit Industry Census will cover 33 municipalities across Región de O’Higgins and will be carried out by a specialized team of 15 surveyors and agricultural professionals, who will collect detailed information on cultivated species and varieties, production volumes, infrastructure, and the commercial destination of the fruit.
In this context, Executive Director of CIREN, Álvaro Eyzaguirre, explained that this study is conducted every three years and helps keep the country’s productive landscape up to date.
“We have the entire country surveyed in terms of the fruit industry and, in this particular case, we will gather information from more than 8,000 growers, allowing us to determine the species, varieties, productive potential, irrigation infrastructure associated with orchard management, and other relevant aspects for the sector,” he stated.
Strategic information to support investment planning and productive development
Another key focus of the study will be the integration of soil, climate, and territorial information in order to develop productive suitability models that can help guide future agricultural investment decisions.
In this regard, Álvaro Eyzaguirre highlighted that “CIREN simultaneously manages information related to soils, climate, and territory. Integrating these layers will make it possible to generate soil-climate suitability models capable of guiding investment decisions with the level of precision currently demanded by the markets.”
He also emphasized the importance of advancing the availability of geospatial data for the private sector, which would help strengthen both productive management and the design of public policies aimed at regional agricultural development.
