Land policy for sustainable agricultural land and its implementation: Experiences from West Sumatra

Abstract

Agriculture development in traditions requires land to grow the plant, either for consumption and industrial purposes. In one hand, it implies that land as resources is understood as an important and high value to attain sustainable agriculture development. In the other hand, land for agricultural use has realized lower value than land for commercial purposes. That results in land conversion from agriculture to non-agricultural land such as land for settlement and tends to happen increasingly at the alarming rate. However, food and settlement are considered as human basic needs. It dares to food supply which may not meet the demand. The main discussion is about how problematical of land competition for settlement and agriculture have been taking place in West Sumatra Province in Indonesia. So, how regulation on land use planning at the national level is being implemented at the provincial or sub-district/city level with regard to sustainable land for food and agriculture development. It is argued that land policy for agriculture and settlement development planning should be laid into an integrated and sustainable development planning thought and local regulation has to support.