Bali to Freeze New Hotel Permits as Farmland Loss Surges to 700 Hectares Annually

Key Takeaways

●	Bali froze new permits for hotels, restaurants, and modern retail outlets on productive farmland.
●	Farmland conversion on the island reached 600–700 hectares annually.
●	The central government moved to protect 7 million hectares of rice fields nationwide.
●	Only 57 percent of Indonesia’s total rice-field base is designated for sustainable
●	agriculture. A nationwide regulation banning the conversion of productive rice fields is being finalized.

DENPASAR, investortrust.id — Bali will immediately halt the issuance of new permits for hotels, restaurants, and modern retail outlets on productive farmland as the provincial government moves to contain a surge in land conversion that has reached 600–700 hectares a year. The step reflects growing national concern that Bali’s accelerating loss of rice fields threatens future food security and violates farmland-protection rules.

Bali’s emergency freeze came as Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning and Head of the National Land Agency Nusron Wahid warned that farmland conversion on the island had entered the high-risk category. Speaking during the Regional Agrarian Reform Task Force meeting in Denpasar on Wednesday, he said, “The work of the task force is necessary and urgent. We must control the conversion of rice fields very carefully.”

Nusron added that agrarian reform remained central to reducing poverty by redistributing land to communities. “There is no poverty alleviation other than one based on land,” he said. He emphasized that farmland categorized under sustainable agricultural zones could not be converted unless new land three times the size was provided as replacement.

Bali Governor I Wayan Koster said the province had seen a steep decline in productive farmland over many years. “What has happened is a very high rate of productive land conversion, around 600 to 700 hectares per year. This is very worrying for us in Bali,” he said. Koster warned that diminishing rice surpluses could evolve into a long-term food threat if the trend continued.

He confirmed plans to propose a regional regulation on controlling farmland conversion to the Bali legislature. “If this continues unchecked, Bali may face food shortages in less than one hundred years,” he said. While preparing the regulation, he said the province would suspend permits for hotels, restaurants, and modern retail outlets that use productive farmland as an accelerated control measure.

The situation in Bali followed broader national efforts unveiled earlier in the month to safeguard 7 million hectares of productive rice fields. The Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning said the move aligned with the national development plan. Speaking in Jakarta on Thursday, Nusron Wahid said, “Our national rice demand reaches 35 million tons, so protecting productive farmland is essential.”

He noted that only 57 percent of Indonesia’s rice-field base had been formally designated as sustainable agricultural zones, far below the target of 87 percent. “The gap remains very wide,” he said. The government aimed to tighten oversight of farmland conversion to prevent further erosion of national production capacity. Indonesia currently held 7.3 million hectares of rice fields.

Minister of Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan previously said the government was finalizing a regulation that would strictly prohibit the conversion of productive rice fields. He stated that the upcoming regulation was prepared together with Nusron Wahid. “In the latest meeting, he requested acceleration of the regulation so that rice fields can no longer be converted. I believe the regulation is now complete,” he said.