Home Affairs and ATR/BPN Ministers Issue Guidelines for Protecting Agricultural Land
Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Tito Karnavian and Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) Nusron Wahid have issued a joint guideline for local governments to protect agricultural land through the integration of Sustainable Food Agricultural Land (LP2B) into regional spatial planning documents. The policy is outlined in a Joint Circular on the Integration of LP2B into Regional Spatial Plans (RTRW) and/or Detailed Spatial Plans (RDTR) for regencies and cities to support the national food self-sufficiency programme.
Speaking at the Sasana Bhakti Praja Building, Ministry of Home Affairs headquarters in Jakarta, Friday, Tito Karnavian stated the policy follows up on Presidential Regulation Number 4 of 2026 concerning the Control of Paddy Field Conversion, which serves as one of the instruments supporting the food self-sufficiency programme. “The essence is translating the provisions regarding Standard Paddy Fields. The President has a food self-sufficiency programme and the Minister of Agriculture expects that regions will maintain their designated Standard Paddy Fields,” he said.
He explained that the Presidential Regulation stipulates that 87 percent of sustainable food agricultural land originates from Standard Paddy Fields (LBS). According to Tito, this condition created uncertainty for both local governments and developers who had built residential areas in locations subsequently categorised as LBS. Therefore, through this joint circular, the government affirms that the 87 percent LBS provision is calculated at the provincial level, not at the regency or city level.
“Each region has Standard Paddy Fields designated by the Minister of ATR/BPN, but the area is locked in at the provincial level,” he stated. Under this scheme, governors can pursue adjustments or compensation through other areas that still have available land to maintain the total LBS area within their territory. “This joint decision provides certainty and a basis for the land certification process, without negating the food self-sufficiency programme and the protection of sustainable agricultural land,” he said.
Tito emphasised that the government seeks to maintain a balance between the food self-sufficiency programme and the provision of housing for the public. Data cited by ANTARA indicates that Minister of ATR/BPN Nusron Wahid previously stated that at least 87 percent of the total 7.348 million hectares of national Standard Paddy Fields must be categorised as land protected from conversion.