Bad News From Aceh, The Area Of Rice Fields Has Decreased By 80,845 Hectares In The Last 4 Years

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Department of Agriculture and Plantation of the Aceh Province stated that the area of rice fields throughout Aceh, spread across 23 districts/cities in this area, has decreased from 2017 to 80,485 ha.

"From an area of 294,483 ha throughout Aceh in 2017, the standard area of Aceh's rice fields that has been determined by the Ministry of ATR/BPN in 2019 is 213,997.5 ha," said Head of the Aceh Agriculture and Plantation Service, Cut Huzaimah represented by the Head of Horticulture, Chairil Anwar. in Meulaboh, quoted from Antara, Friday, August 27.

This statement was conveyed during the Socialization and Consolidation of the Protection of Sustainable Food Agricultural Land in West Aceh.

So that the rice fields in Aceh do not decrease every year, said Chairil Anwar, the government is paying special attention to the existing rice fields so that their use can be maintained and protected. So that people's food needs are maintained and available at all times, he said.

He also said that currently Indonesia already has Law No. 41 of 2009 concerning the Protection of Sustainable Agricultural Land, which mandates that the protection of food agricultural land is an integral part of regional spatial planning.

"Protection of food agricultural land needs to be done by determining the areas of food agriculture that need to be protected," added Chairil Anwar.

According to him, sustainable food agricultural land is a field of agricultural land that is determined to be protected and developed consistently, as stated in Law Number 41 of 2009.

He also emphasized that in order to provide protection for agricultural land, Aceh Province has stipulated Qanun (Perda) No. 19 concerning the Aceh Regional Spatial Plan for 2013-2033, related to the strategy for developing cultivated areas by utilizing cultivated areas effectively, efficiently, and sustainably.

However, said Chairil Anwar, the implementation of the regulation has not explicitly mandated the protection of agricultural land, to ensure sustainable food sovereignty in the form of land protection, he said.