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Land reform means more than free land certificates
Land access, in particular for agricultural households in a rural area, is fundamental. Unfortunately, statistics show that land access is becoming more tenuous than ever.
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For cup of tea: A tea farmer harvest tea in a plantation. Most of Indonesia’s specialty teas are currently destined for foreign markets. (The Jakarta Post/Nedi Putra AW)
T
he issuing and distribution of land certificates for free has been a flagship program of the government in recent years. The Agrarian and Spatial Planning Ministry and National Land Agency (BPN) have set an ambitious target to distribute 60 million land certificates until every landowner has a legal document of land ownership by 2025. In this year alone, there are 11 million land certificates intended to be distributed.
It is the right policy that is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In achieving the first goal of no poverty, for instance, one target is to ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal access to economic resources, including land.
One indicator to measure the progress of the target is the proportion of the total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, with legally recognized documentation.
Unfortunately, such an indicator is not yet available for Indonesia. It is one of the limitations of land statistics in Indonesia that should be addressed to monitor the progress of SDGs properly.
