554 Thousand Ha Sawah Missing, DPR Member Reminds Regional Heads: Don't Look At Entrepreneurs

Rice Fields in Pandan Duhan OKU Village currently have an irrigation system to flow water into the fields so that they do not run out of water. (Between South Sumatra / Edo Purmana)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission II DPR RI Mohamad Toha highlighted the weak supervision of the local government (Pemda) against land conversion, following the finding that hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice fields had turned into residential and industrial areas.

Toha warned regional heads not to 'flirt' with employers in issuing permits.

This statement was made by Toha in response to the statement of the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Nusron Wahid who said that there had been a transfer of rice fields of 554,000 hectares from 2019 to 2025.

Toha urged regional heads to act decisively and carry out the rules in accordance with the mandate of the law without compromise with the interests of developers and industry players.

"Regional heads should not be careless with entrepreneurs. Rice fields should not be used as commodities for short-term interests," Toha told reporters, Friday, December 12.

He emphasized that every company that is determined to transfer the function of rice fields must be immediately reported to law enforcement officials.

If there are companies that are determined to transfer the function of rice fields, report them to the police. There must be a deterrent effect," he continued.

According to Toha, BPN needs to tighten supervision to prevent continued conversion of productive rice fields. He called the discovery of large-scale land conversion as a danger signal that threatens national food security and environmental sustainability.

"I ask BPN in all regions to carry out strict supervision. If there are developers or companies that take care of the transfer of rice fields, they must be immediately rejected. There is no reason to compromise," said the PKB legislator from the Central Java V electoral district.

Toha emphasized that rice fields are not just economic assets, but are directly related to the nation's future. If land conversion continues, Indonesia, according to him, has the potential to face the threat of a food crisis.

"We can't just leave the strategic food area to go away. The government must stand in front to protect it," he said.

He hopes that the central and regional governments will strengthen coordination in maintaining agricultural land, including consistent spatial planning enforcement and taking action against parties who violate the provisions.