Government Pursues Target for Mapping Protected Paddy Fields in 17 Provinces

JAKARTA – The government, through the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), is accelerating the massive control of paddy field land conversion. The main focus is now on completing the Protected Paddy Land (LSD) maps in 17 new provinces, targeted for completion by mid-June 2026. This step represents a strategic expansion after the government finalised LSD designations in 12 initial provinces, covering a total area of 2.74 million hectares. In the Limited Coordination Meeting (Rakortas) at the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs on Monday (30/03/2026), Deputy Minister of ATR/Deputy Head of BPN, Ossy Dermawan, emphasised that the second quarter of this year is a crucial period. “We hope that in the second quarter we can complete it, so we can obtain the LSD area maps from these 17 new provinces,” Ossy stated. The projected area to be protected in this second phase reaches an impressive figure of around 7.44 million hectares. This positions the LSD policy as a vital instrument in defending the last bastion of national food production amid the strong currents of industrialisation and infrastructure development. One of the biggest challenges in designating LSD is the accuracy of technical data. To avoid agrarian conflicts and overlapping land use, the Ministry of ATR/BPN applies strict data cleansing methods. This process involves integrating land rights maps, forest area maps, and Spatial Planning Plans (RTR). “This data will later be needed to cleanse the initial data in order to obtain more accurate data,” Ossy stressed. The Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, gave a strong signal that this acceleration requires full support from all ministries and agencies. The involvement of the Geospatial Information Agency, the Ministry of Forestry, and the Ministry of Public Works is key to ensuring the final maps leave no administrative disputes. Similar support came from the Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya, who attended the meeting.