Central Java Agency Reveals Reason for 1,100 Cooperatives Built on Agricultural Land

More than 1,100 Village Cooperative Red and White (KDKMP) buildings in Central Java are situated on protected sustainable food agricultural land (LP2B), a designation that prohibits land-use conversion. Hariadi Agus Setiawan, an official from the Central Java Public Works and Spatial Planning Agency, revealed that the initial phase of the KDKMP program lacked clear regulations preventing construction on agricultural land.

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If the information we received is correct, from the beginning, there was no requirement that it must be in accordance with spatial planning and cannot be on sustainable food agricultural land. The point is that the land belongs to the village government or BUMD, something like that, so this continues to happen.

"If the information we received is correct, from the beginning, there was no requirement that it must be in accordance with spatial planning and cannot be on sustainable food agricultural land. The point is that the land belongs to the village government or BUMD, something like that, so this continues to happen," Hariadi explained.

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But there is a letter from ATR/BPN that this (KDKMP) is directed as an MSME business. When Kopdes becomes an MSME, the permits are with the regency/city governments.

The KDKMP project is considered a national strategic project (PSN). While permits should originate from the Ministry of Agraria and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), a letter from ATR/BPN directed KDKMP towards Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) development, shifting permitting authority to regency/city governments.

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However, the regency/city governments will not dare to issue permits in locations that are sustainable food agricultural land because according to the rules, it is not allowed. This is perhaps what the central government is currently preparing to resolve these conditions.

However, local governments are hesitant to issue permits for locations on LP2B due to regulatory prohibitions. Hariadi indicated that the central government is currently developing policies to resolve these situations. He stressed the importance of aligning KDKMP development with LP2B preservation, as the latter is crucial for the nation's food self-sufficiency goals. Without new policies, regency/city officials cannot issue permits for KDKMP on LP2B land, as it contradicts spatial planning.

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Because if there are no other policies, the regency/city governments will also not be able to issue permits because it does not comply with spatial planning if the location is on LP2B.