<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze Indonesia’s new rice field expansion policy and the challenges of protecting Sustainable Food Agricultural Land (Lahan Pertanian Pangan Berkelanjutan or LP2B). The study focuses on the policy conflict between food production expansion and sustainable agricultural land protection within the framework of spatial planning and food security governance. This research employs a descriptive qualitative approach with a policy analysis and legal-spatial governance perspective. Data were collected through document studies of laws and regulations, official statistics, government policy documents, spatial planning materials, media reports, and relevant academic literature on agricultural land conversion, LP2B protection, food security, and sustainable land governance. The findings show that new rice field expansion may strengthen food production capacity, but it does not automatically solve the continuing loss of productive agricultural land. The policy may become ineffective if newly opened fields are used merely to compensate for the conversion of existing fertile and irrigated rice fields. The study also finds that LP2B protection remains constrained by weak spatial planning integration, land conversion pressure, limited enforcement, and insufficient incentives for farmers and local governments. The contribution of this study lies in framing new rice field expansion as a spatial governance issue, not merely an agricultural extensification program. Food security policy should therefore balance land expansion with stronger LP2B protection, ecological safeguards, spatial consistency, and smallholder farmer protection.]]>
Copyrights © 2025
