The Institute of Agricultural Development (INDAP), is a service dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture, created on November 27, 1962, whose mandate is established by the Organic Law 18,910, amended by Law 19,213 in May 1993. It is a decentralized service which aims to:  "Promote the economic, social and technological development of small farmers and peasants, in order to help raise their business, organizational and commercial capacity, their integration into the rural development process and optimize at the same time the use of productive resources ".

Under this mandate, the institution is empowered to develop a wide range of actions related to productive and rural development and defines the condition of its beneficiaries that can be: 

-Small producer: Small Producer (a) Agricultural: The natural person who exploits a surface area not exceeding 12 Hectares of Basic Irrigation, whose assets do not exceed the equivalent of 3,500 Unidades de Fomento, whose income comes mainly from the agricultural holding, and which works directly with the land, whatever their tenure regime.

-Campesino / a: Peasant (a): Is the natural person who habitually lives and works in the field, whose income comes mainly from the agroforestry activity carried out personally, whatever the legal quality in which it is carried out, provided that its economic conditions are not superior to those of a small agricultural producer, and the people that make up his family.

During its more than 50 years of operation, the institution has developed a wide range of actions aimed at productive and rural development. INDAP is composed of 15 regional offices plus 127 agencies and area offices, distributed throughout Chile; and a central level, where the national authorities and the national managers of the different divisions of work and programs are located.

Mission 
contribute to the sustainable economic development and to the valorisation of Family Farming and its organizations, by means of a promotion action tending to strengthen the human, social, productive, natural and cultural capital of men, women, young people and native peoples in the territories .

Vision
To be a public institution of excellence, plural, dialoguing and working in a network with other public and private actors, for the benefit of the Peasant Family Farming of the country.

Objectives
- Support the access of Peasant Family Farming to a system of extension and support for innovation that improves their skills and abilities to develop agricultural and rural enterprises, considering the opportunities and restrictions indicated by markets, territories and the environment.
- Facilitate the access of Peasant Family Farming to financing programs (credits and incentives) adapted to the needs of working capital and investments required to enhance the diversity of economic, individual and associative enterprises.
- Expand and improve the access conditions of Family Farming to local, national and international markets, promoting traditional and differentiated products of high quality and seeking an approach between the producer and the final consumer.
- Strengthen the organizational development of Family Farming in order to contribute to the development of their productive activity and their integration into the markets, as well as to the strengthening of their participation and positioning as a relevant actor in society.
- Support the development and strengthening of the social capital of Family Farming, promoting cooperation among producers, as well as the creation of networks and alliances between them and public and private actors, to channel new resources and skills to the rural world.