Try laments rapid loss of agricultural land

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno lamented yesterday the rapid loss of agricultural land to development projects.

He said the rapid loss of fertile land not only hurts farmers but also wastes state funds that have been spent building irrigation systems.

"The loans that the government obtained to build the affected irrigation systems may not been paid up while the agricultural land has been lost," the Vice President said when addressing a workshop organized by the National Land Agency.

The affected farmers benefit from living in a growing industrial area because the price of their land keeps soaring but in the long run, the land conversion will affect the nation's food supply, he added.

The most lamentable issue, he stressed, is the loss of fertile land to housing or industrial development schemes. "The development projects neglect the introduction of the costly irrigation system."

Try called on the land agency to help put the brakes on the conversion of agricultural land, Antara reported.

The Vice President pointed out that the lack of coordination between related agencies has often led to overlapping zoning. The same area is often earmarked to be a residential area, industrial estate, transmigration site and cultivated plot at the same time, he said.

"This error may happens because officials only look at the map and do not see the actual situation in the field," he said. "And the chaotic spatial plan usually raises legal problems for the future."

Try also asked the land agency to initiate a legal information campaign in villages where people have fallen victim to speculators exploiting their ignorance of the relevant laws.

"Officials should be more responsive and proactive in dealing with the increasing problems of land status," he said.

Present at the meeting were National Land Agency chairman Soni Harsono, State Minister of Administrative Reform T.B. Silalahi and Attorney General Singgih. (pan)