Argumentation: Threats Reduced Agricultural Land

Threats Reduced Agricultural Land

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Since the industrial revolution various kinds of goods have been produced to fulfill human life using various types of machines. By using the machine the ability to produce goods becomes faster and more efficient. This has led to the opening of many industrial estates to support the increasing human needs. Due to the lack of strong government regulations in order to prevent land conversion, many agricultural lands have been converted into industrial zones. While some Indonesians earn a living engaged in agriculture. Therefore, the opening of industrial estates on agricultural land be stopped because it can threaten food security, threaten the balance of the ecosystem, and many farm workers have lost their jobs.

First, the opening of industrial states on agricultural land threatens food security. That is by reason of agricultural land is a factor supporting the needs of people's lives, especially in the food sector. However, paddy fields have now been converted into industrial zones which have lessen agricultural land in Indonesia every year. The data shows the switch of function of agricultural land successive with the loss of community interest in working in agriculture, this can be seen from the increase in the conversion rate of agricultural land every year, in 2015 there was land conversion which caused Indonesia to lose 24,200 hectares of agricultural land (Ministry of Agriculture, 2016). As a result of this, food production especially paddy has reduction which has an impact on the national need for rice that is decreasing. Friyatno et al. (2001) stated that lost harvest areas, reduced productivity of paddy fields, and the application of cropping patterns are the effects of shifting the function of paddy fields resulting in loss of rice production. The impact of the conversion of agricultural land to the food sector also affects the price of food on the market, especially the price of rice. Seeing that rice production is declining but community needs are rising so that demand is greater than the existing food supply, this causes the price of rice on the market to expand. The data indicates the price of rice Rp.11,073 per kg was the price of food in December 2013, where the price increased by 0.5 percent (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2014). So based on the data that has been provided, in my opinion agricultural land which is now being converted into industrial estates has a negative impact on national food security, this can be seen from the decline in agricultural land that continues to increase, resulting in reduced food supply especially rice, in addition to land reduction agriculture has an impact on the economy of the community, where food prices on the market have increased so that food prices are not affordable by some people.

Second, the conversion of the function of agricultural into industrial zones threatens the balance of the ecosystem. That is by reason of agricultural land has an important function for human life, regardless of food needs but agricultural land also plays an important role for the balance of the ecosystem. Many ecosystems are disturbed because land use change has a negative impact on environmental sustainability. This can be seen from the many changes in land which was originally a wet land has now become a dry land which of course it destroys spatial planning that has the potential to cause flood disasters. The studies claims that among several factors causing floods, land use change is the main cause of floods in many areas (Kodoatie & Sjarief, 2006). This is due to agricultural land is a land that is very easy to absorb rainwater. In addition, agricultural land functions to absorb carbon as well as being a place to live animals. As a result of land use change itself many animals have lost their homes and oxygen supply is decreasing. Hariyanto (2010) postulated that agricultural land not only serves as a buffer for the needs of the food sector but has an ecological function of carbon sequestration, regulating water systems etc. So based on the statements above, in my opinion the conversion of agricultural land has a negative impact on the balance of the ecosystem, it can be seen from the effects that occur such as flooding, loss of shelter of animals, and depletion of oxygen supply for human life.

Third, the opening of industrial estates which caused agricultural land to decrease resulted in many farm workers losing their job. This is due to the fact that Indonesia is an agrarian country where most of the population earns a living as a farm laborer. Dharmawan et al. (2007) stated that the emergence of unemployment is the impact of the many farm workers who find it difficult to find work because of the conversion of agricultural land. Therefore, the change of land use has resulted in high rates of urbanization caused by the livelihoods of people, especially rural communities who have lost their jobs and decided to try their luck in urban areas to get a job. Irawan (2005) presented a description of decreased employment opportunities caused by land use change will affect the income of farmers, therefore the level of purchasing power will decrease and this will have an impact on the economy of farmers, especially in the food sector. In addition, the conversion of land functions has resulted in many farm workers turning professions. This is due to economic demands and reduced employment opportunities for farm laborers which causes farm laborers to find other work. So, based on the data that has been presented in my opinion, the conversion of the function of agricultural land causes the farm workers to lose their jobs, this results in high rates of urbanization, in addition to the economic demands of many farm workers who switch professions to the non-agricultural sector.

            In conclusion, that the conversion of agricultural land into industrial areas must be stopped inasmuch as it causes several threats, including threatening food security, threatening the balance of the ecosystem, and farm workers losing their jobs. From this, it can be seen that the conversion of agricultural land has a negative impact on the environment and society. In this case, the government must set stricter regulations regarding the transfer of land functions. It would be better if the government and the community work together to reduce the activities of land use change that can damage the environment and harm local communities.

References:

Badan Pusat Statistik. (2014). Laporan bulanan tentang data sosial ekonomi [Monthly report on socioeconomic data]. Edition 44. Retrivied January 2014. From http://www.bps.go.id/download_file/IP_Januari_2014.pdf.

Dharmawan, A.H., Sihaloho, M., & Rusli, S. (2007). Konversi Lahan Pertanian  dan  Perubahan  Struktur  Agraria  (Studi  kasus  Di  Kelurahan Mulyaharaja, Kecamatan Bogor Selatan, Kota Bogor, Jawa Barat). [Agricultural Land Conversion and Changes in Agrarian Structure (Case study in Mulyaharaja Village, South Bogor District, Bogor City, West Java)]. Sodality (Jurnal   Transdisiplin   Sosiologi,   Komunikasi,   dan   Ekologi   manusia). 1(2), 253-270. Retrieved from http://journal.ipb.ac.id/index.php/sodality/article/view/5928/4605

Friyatno, S., Irawan, B., & Sumaryanto. (2001). Konversi lahan sawah ke penggunaan nonpertanian dan dampak negatifnya [Conversion of paddy fields to non-agricultural uses and their negative impacts]. Prosiding seminar multifungsi lahan sawah.  Pusat penelitian dan pengembangan tanah dan agroklimat, Bogor. Retrieved from http://balittanah.litbang.pertanian.go.id/ind/dokumentasi/prosiding/mflp2001/sumaryanto.pdf

Hariyanto. (2010). Pola dan Intensitas Konversi Lahan Pertanian di Kota Semarang Tahun 2000-2009 [The Pattern and Intensity of Agricultural Land Conversion in Semarang City in 2000-2009]. Departement of Geography, Universitas Negeri Semarang, 7(10). https://doi.org/10.15294/jg.v7i1.86

Irawan, B. (2005). Konversi Lahan Sawah : Potensi Dampak, Pola Pemanfaatannya, dan Faktor Determinan [Wetland Conversion: Potential Impacts, Utilization Patterns, and Determinant Factors]. Forum Penelitian Agro Ekonomi, 23(1), 1-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.21082/fae.v23n1.2005.1-18

Kementerian Pertanian RI. (2016). Statistik Pertanian 2016 [Agricultural statistics 2016]. Jakarta: Pusat Data dan Sistem Informasi Pertanian Kementerian Pertanian Republik Indonesia. Retrieved from http://epublikasi.setjen.pertanian.go.id/arsip-perstatistikan/407-statistik-pertanian-2016

Kodoatie, R.J., & Sjarief, R. (2006). Pengelolaan Bencana Terpadu [Integrated disaster management]. Yarsif Watampone, Jakarta. Retrieved from https://www.worldcat.org/title/pengelolaan-bencana-terpadu/oclc/84836626

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