Indonesia’s Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency, Nusron Wahid, has raised concerns with the Bali Provincial Government regarding the status of Sustainable Agricultural and Food Land, which remains below the total Permanent Rice Field Area.
During an event in Denpasar on Tuesday, he stated that he would bring this issue directly to Bali Governor Wayan Koster in a meeting scheduled for Wednesday (26 November 2025).
“Tomorrow (Wednesday) I will meet with the Governor of Bali and all regents in Bali, and I will emphasize this,” he said.
Nusron stressed that the government has implemented a moratorium on land-use conversion, especially for active agricultural land classified as Sustainable Agricultural and Food Land. Under Presidential Regulation No. 12 of 2025, Sustainable Agricultural and Food Land must account for at least 87% of the total Permanent Rice Field Area.
In Bali, however, Sustainable Agricultural and Food Land currently stands at 62% of the total. According to 2024 data from Bali’s Statistics Agency, the province has 64,474 hectares of permanent rice fields, meaning Sustainable Agricultural and Food Land covers only around 39,973 hectares.
In the upcoming meeting. Nusron will request that rice fields whose land-use designation was changed through spatial planning revisions be restored to their original function.
“Rice fields that have been changed into non-rice field zones must be returned to rice fields mandatory,” he emphasized.
Following the National Congress of the Indonesian Cadastral Surveyors Society in Sanur, Nusron again highlighted the risks posed by land conversion in Bali.
“(Land conversion) in Bali is one of the dangerous ones. Why? Because Presidential Regulation No. 12 of 2025 states that the Sustainable Agricultural and Food Land target must be 87 percent of the total Permanent Rice Field Area. What is Sustainable Agricultural and Food Land? It is land that must remain rice fields forever, rice fields that cannot be altered for life,” he said.
He added, “We are implementing a moratorium on land-use conversion. It is no longer allowed. Especially Sustainable Agricultural and Food Land sustainable food agricultural land absolutely cannot be converted.”
He noted that Bali is still far from meeting the legal requirements and plans to gather the region’s leaders soon. “I will emphasize that rice fields whose spatial designation has been changed must be returned to rice fields. Mandatory,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Bali Provincial Government is preparing a Regional Regulation Draft to control the widespread land conversion occurring across the island.
According to the Head of Bali’s Agriculture and Food Security Office, I Wayan Sunada, land conversion in the province has averaged 1,254 hectares per year over thepast five years, with the total rice field area now at 68,078 hectares.
“Just imagine. Every year our land decreases—conversion keeps happening,” he said.
Sources: Antaranews, CNN Indonesia
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