1,100 Cooperatives in Central Java Built on Sustainable Farmland, Officials Say Number is 'Reasonable'

More than 1,100 Village/Kelurahan Red and White Cooperatives (KDKMP) in Central Java, Indonesia, have been established on land designated for sustainable food agriculture (LP2B). However, provincial officials maintain that the number is within acceptable limits.

“

The condition on the ground is that many KDMPs are built on green land, and even LP2B land is included.

Henggar Budi Anggoro, head of the Central Java Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Agency, confirmed that many KDKMPs are situated on green land, including LP2B. "The condition on the ground is that many KDMPs are built on green land, and even LP2B land is included," he stated.

Data from the PUPR Agency indicates over 1,100 KDKMPs are on LP2B. Anggoro described this figure as "still within the limits of reasonableness" for the province. He also claimed that the total area of green land and LP2B occupied by these cooperatives is not substantial. "Although if you count the individual units, it seems like the number is large (KDKMPs on green land and LP2B), the area used by KDMP is not too large," he said.

“

In terms of accumulation at the provincial level, the number is actually still within the limits of reasonableness.

Despite these assurances, the issue has been communicated to the Ministry of Agraria and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN). Hariadi Agus Setiawan, a Spatial Planning Functional Officer at the PUPR Agency, noted that his department lacks precise data on the total area of green land, particularly LP2B, converted for KDKMP buildings. He explained that data from regencies/cities only provides coordinates, and upon review, these locations are found to be in agricultural zones or rice fields.

“

Although if you count the individual units, it seems like the number is large (KDKMPs on green land and LP2B), the area used by KDMP is not too large.

Setiawan added that the data provided by the districts/cities regarding cooperative locations only shows points. When checked against spatial planning, these points are found to be in agricultural areas, including rice fields. The ministry has been informed about these land uses.

“

We have already communicated with our colleagues at the Ministry of ATR/BPN, and the green lands and so on where KDMP is located have also been informed. We have conveyed this.