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Government ready to kick off social forestry program
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Officials from public forestry firm Perhutani prepare a large banner to promote tourism at the Gunung Pancar Nature Tourism Park in Bogor, West Java. (JP/Theresia Sufa)
T
he government is ready to implement its social forestry program, which aims to distribute idle land owned by state-owned forestry company Perhutani to farmers, rolling it out initially in two regions in Java.
Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said on Wednesday that two locations in each province, Central Java and East Java, were ready to be utilized. The government was also studying three locations in West Java as part of the program.
He said farmers could receive 500 to 2,500 hectares of land, which would be utilized under the cluster scheme, focusing on planting certain commodities in one area.
“We cannot postpone the program simply to wait for land that is not yet ready,” Darmin told journalists, adding that the recipients must pass the government's requirements, and they were not allowed to sell the land or bequeath it.
The program, which is part of the government’s land reforms, will allow farmers to utilize state-owned land for 35 years, with a government review conducted every five years to see whether the program is working or not.
(Read also: Jokowi gives harsh appraisal on forestry reform)
The social forestry program will distribute 570,000 hectares of idle Perhutani land to underprivileged people in Java. The firm controls 2.4 million hectares of plantation concessions in Java, around 17 percent of the total land on the island. (rdi/ags)
