Agrarian reform to end control over land

Eddy Leks
CEO and managing partner at Leks & Co., Lawyers

PREMIUM

Jakarta / Mon, March 27, 2017 / 07:48 am

Agrarian reform to end control over land

Farmers from Ranakolong village, Kota Komba, East Manggarai, carry a bamboo ladder that will be used to pick cloves. JP/Markus Makur (JP/Markus Makur)

Land reform has been much talked about lately, but not everyone understands what it really means. The term is interesting because it is related to what is really needed to be revised in our existing agrarian field. When talking about agrarian reform, it is not only about land aspects but also has a wider scope, such as water, forestry and other natural resources. Some experts often refer to it as land reform instead of agrarian reform, and this could limit its meaning to be just about land. Boedi Harsono, as one of the supporters of land reform terminology, states that land reform consists of restructuring ownership and control of land and its legal relationships related to land utilization. Agrarian reform or land reform, even before 1960, has been the basis of change on land structure almost all over the world. The principle is that agrarian land has to be actively cultivated ...