“Agriculture is the foundation of our nation’s future and must be protected seriously,” Sudaryono said in a statement released in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He said the government, together with all relevant stakeholders, will stop the conversion of agricultural land, which has increasingly reduced the space available for food production.
Sudaryono delivered the remarks at a coordination meeting on revising regional spatial plans, land conversion, baseline rice fields, Sustainable Food Agricultural Land (LP2B) and sustainable farming areas at the Home Affairs Ministry office in Jakarta.
“Inputs in agriculture can be improved, but land and water cannot. If land disappears, production disappears - and if production disappears, food will be in crisis. This is a fact that cannot be negotiated,” he said.
He emphasized that farmland conversion must no longer be tolerated, warning that it poses a serious threat to national food stability.
“From now on, rice field conversion must stop. If not, we will face the consequences ourselves,” he said.
With the population continuing to grow, he added, food demand will keep rising, making it crucial to maintain - or even expand - existing farmland.
“If agriculture falters, food prices rise, imports increase, farmers lose their land and the foundation of national food production weakens,” said Sudaryono, who comes from a farming family in Grobogan, Central Java.
He said the government is preparing concrete steps to strengthen land protection, including accelerating the designation of LP2B, improving cooperation between central and regional governments and tightening regulations to prevent farmland conversion for non-agricultural use.
“This is not just about regulations - it is about shared commitment. Agricultural land must be treated as a strategic national asset,” he said.
Sudaryono said protecting farmland is equal to safeguarding Indonesia’s future. With a rapidly growing population, food demand will surge, and without sufficient land, the country risks losing its food sovereignty.
“Agriculture is a lifeline. In any difficult situation, agriculture stands the strongest. If we fail to protect our land today, our children and grandchildren will pay the price,” he said.
He urged local governments, businesses, communities and developers to prioritize national interests, stressing that economic development must not come at the expense of productive farmland.
“Go ahead and build, but do not touch productive farmland. Let us make land protection a national movement, not just a discussion,” he said.
At the same event, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said the central and regional governments are placing strong focus on revising spatial planning regulations, particularly regarding land conversion, baseline rice fields, LP2B and sustainable farming areas.
Tito said regional administrations are required to revise their spatial plans as a strategic step to ensure that existing farmland is not arbitrarily converted.
He noted that 87 percent of land in the national spatial plan is currently designated for agricultural use, making the protection of existing rice fields a top priority.
As a follow-up, the government will convene a joint meeting involving the Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Ministry/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), the Home Affairs Ministry, the Geospatial Information Agency and the Agriculture Ministry to push regional administrations to revise their local regulations.
The revisions are considered essential to protect existing rice fields and prepare land for new paddy field development. Land conversion will still be permitted, but only under strict procedures and regulations.
“All of this is to ensure that we truly achieve self-sufficiency. We protect existing rice fields, we prepare new ones, and we must do it with discipline,” he said.
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Translator: Harianto, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Primayanti
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