DPR member calls for moratorium on protected rice field expansion amid mapping issues

DPR member Muhammad Khozin has proposed a temporary moratorium on expanding protected rice fields (LSD) due to ongoing mapping issues and potential hindrances to public services and regional development.

Khozin stated that the expansion of LSD requires a thorough review, as the government already has agricultural land protection mechanisms under Act No. 41 of 2009 on Sustainable Agricultural Land Protection, including the Sustainable Agricultural Land (LP2B) and Sustainable Agricultural Area (KP2B) schemes.

“The LSD policy is no longer necessary. Transitional measures should not create new problems in the regions,” Khozin said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.

Speaking at a meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (ATR/BPN), Apdesi, Apkasi, and Apeksi at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta, Khozin said the implementation of LSD in several regions still faces legal and technical issues due to inaccurate land mapping.

“Islamic boarding schools, community health centres, government offices, and housing projects have been affected by LSD designations, preventing their development due to inaccurate mapping,” he added.

Khozin criticised the centralized approach to LSD designation, which lacks sufficient local government involvement in field verification. As a result, several public service projects and community needs have been impacted by the protected rice field designations.

According to him, the LSD policy is based solely on Presidential Regulation No. 59 of 2019, later amended by Presidential Regulation No. 4 of 2026 on Controlling Rice Field Conversion.

“From a legal hierarchy perspective, the legal basis of LSD cannot be equated with LP2B and KP2B, which are grounded in Act No. 41 of 2009,” he said.

Therefore, Khozin has urged the government to prioritise fixing implementation in the eight provinces where LSD is already in place before expanding the policy to other regions.

“We propose a temporary halt to LSD expansion until existing policies are properly refined and precise,” he added.

He stressed that protecting food land remains crucial, but policies must be based on accurate data and consider regional development and public service needs.