The Bandung City Government to Optimize Productivity through Sawah Abadi

Despite having limited paddy fields, the Bandung City Government is committed to keep optimizing agriculture production. One of the procedures is through utilizing lahan sawah abadi (lasting paddy fields) and lahan sawah dilindungi (protected paddy fields) (LSD).

It was stated by the Acting Mayor of Bandung City, Yana Mulyana, after visiting the Land Affairs Office (BPN) of West Java, Tuesday, 12 April 2022.

Yana explained that, on average, paddy fields in Bandung City were cistern-rain (tadah hujan) paddy fields because they did not have technical irrigation. So, their productivity results in one harvest per year.

“Especially, in the dry season, the production is low, only 2-3 tons per harvest. By utilizing technologies to manage lasting paddy fields of 30,7 ha in Bandung City, the harvest can reach up to three times per year,” Yana said.

Based on Kepmen ATR/BPN No. 1589/SK-HK.02.01/XII/2021, Bandung City also has LSD of 673,37 ha. Most of them have been utilized to support the Bandung City development.

“Actually, we have used some of the fields for infrastructures, TPU expansion, and hankam. Risks in cities actually cover limited lands due to their status as a metropolitan, this also affects the high economic growth rate,” he said.

As a response of refunctioning of LSD of Bandung City, the General Director of PPTR of the Ministry of Agriculture and National Spatial Planning/Land Affairs (ATR/BPN), Budi Situmorang, said that LSD could be freed if the Bandung City Government could agree on the Decree (SK).

“There must be investment proof. For example, if the lands have been bought, include the transaction to us. We also do not want to hinder the city development, so, we provide the Decree (SK),” Budi said.

He also said that in the Decree, it offered an alternative that could be taken together. If, within 5 years the refunctioning of LSD was not realized, the lands could then be stated as LSD again.

“For example, there is a region in which we must to reroute for tens of kilometres to the city. It runs out, if we made a straight road, it could be faster but it would have to sacrifice LSD,” he said.

“We can free several hectares of paddy fields but the surrounding paddy fields must stay. This is to develop the regions/villages at which the fields are located,” he said. (din)*

The Head of the Communication and Informatics Agency of Bandung City 

Yayan A. Brilyana