Robinsons Sponsor Young Farmers trip to Chile 

Robinsons was thrilled to recently sponsor Andrew McGregor in his SAYFC Agricultural study tour to Chile.

The trip organised by SAYFC (Scottish Association of Young Farmers Club) gave the opportunity for young farmers to travel and experience Agricultural businesses around Chile. The SAYFC is one of the largest rural youth organisations that provide a network of young farmers support and opportunities to gain new experiences. 

From the 20^th of November to the 3rd of December Andrew and 14 other Young Farmers took a tour around Chile to see 20 very different types of Agricultural businesses and how they operate. This ranged from farms growing avocados and grapes to livestock farms giving the group a real insight into farming across the world.  

A shock occurred when the young farmers were met with 30 degrees of heat. They also experienced a regular occurrence of earthquakes, which the locals seemed to take in their stride as a regular occurrence. Hosted by a number of local family businesses, the group learned all about locational factors such as ideal temperatures for growing fruit.

Learning about the culture and history was also important in the experience. Andrew found it interesting to learn about the politics and economy of this unique country. He also learned that Chile is the largest producer of copper in the world and exports of copper make up around 70% of their GDP. 

The farmers spoke about how the Chilean Government provided very little financial support to them. Funding from the Government was only available for the installation and improvement of irrigation systems. The hands-off approach didn’t seem to have any detrimental effect on the farmers.
 
The common theme throughout the visit was Climate Change affecting each farmer the group talked to. An ongoing trend emerging in different sectors of the farming community is the move south. The lack of water availability and increasing temperatures strongly dictate what can be grown in different regions. 

Andrew said;  

“The SAYFC Agri study trip was both enlightening and inspiring. I have returned home even more certain than before that Scotland is in a great place to be able to produce food, both now and in the future!”

Find out more about the trip below

SAYFC Chile trip