InfoSAWIT, BANDUNG – The government has revealed that 59% of land in Indonesia, outside forest areas, is controlled by only 1% of the population, the majority of whom are conglomerates. This was stated by the Head of the Land Bank Agency, Parman Nataatmadja, during a media gathering in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.
“About one percent of Indonesia's population controls nearly 59% of the land in this republic,” said Parman. He added that this phenomenon is the main reason the government established the Land Bank Agency, a legal entity that manages and provides state land.
Parman emphasized the importance of agrarian reform policies to ensure that future generations have access to land. “We must not let our children and grandchildren only live on lands owned by conglomerates. They must have their own land through agrarian reform programs,” he stressed, as quoted by InfoSAWIT from Kontan on Tuesday (January 21, 2025).
As a commitment, the Land Bank Agency has allocated 30% of its total land assets for agrarian reform. By the end of 2024, the agency had managed 33,115.6 hectares of land spread across 45 regencies/cities.
The land assets of the Land Bank Agency are obtained from various sources, including abandoned land, former mining land, reclaimed land, small islands, land resulting from spatial planning changes, unclaimed land, and deforested land.
These assets are utilized for public interest, national development, economic equity, and agrarian reform. Cooperation is conducted through mechanisms of sale, lease, donation, or exchange.
In 2025, the Land Bank Agency aims to add land assets up to 140,000 hectares. This step is expected to strengthen land ownership equity and support community welfare.
Agrarian reform through the Land Bank Agency represents a new hope for creating economic equity while ensuring fair land access for all Indonesian citizens. (T2)