Bali to protect paddy fields

Bali to protect paddy fields

DENPASAR, Bali: The provincial administration is drafting a
spatial plan to protect paddy fields, which have declined
markedly in acreage in the past 20 years.

I Gusti Ketut Swastha, head of Bali's agriculture office, said
here yesterday that about 1,000 hectares of agricultural land was
converted to other uses annually, an average decline which had
begun in the early 1980s.

Only 88,000 hectares of rice fields remain in the province, he
said, adding that at least 87,000 hectares were needed for local
self-sufficiency in the staple.

Residential and industrial estates, and tourist resorts have
been build on the land.

"Due to that trend, the Bali administration is drafting a
spatial plan aimed at protecting the remaining agricultural
lands," he said as quoted by Antara. (mds)