Battle between tourism and agriculture in I’nesia

Since President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced his intention to develop tourism, many cities in Indonesia have taken up his call, and much improvement in public services has been seen. This policy has not been taken on without good reason.

Our beautiful and exotic natural and cultural diversity has not been developed seriously. If it is, incomes in regions will rise and new jobs will be created. As a major tourist destination, these issues are very relevant for Yogyakarta.

Unfortunately, due to ambiguities in the arrangement between tourism and the agricultural sector, many tourism policies have been misunderstood, and tourism projects have directly threatened the agricultural sector. There are many current cases of public facilities that are being fought over or farmland being replaced by hotels, malls, apartments, residential areas and airports.

The conversion of productive land continues to this day and has the support of the middle class who benefit from the investment.

As a result, the projects are given legitimacy by the support of some communities, although the problems are actually caused by ambiguous regulations. 

This makes it difficult for even the central government to deal with the land crisis in Yogyakarta.

Yet the problem is very complicated. The conflict between residents and hotel developers creates many problem such as the demise of traditional markets, loss of citizens’ livelihoods, and lack of children’s playgrounds. Research in 2014 also discovered other serious problems, such as certain practices that impoverish residents. 

One example are the efforts made to persuade residents to sell their land/property to developers. 

Land owners will sell their land at a low price because they need quick money and village leaders insist that they sell. Whereas the fertility of their land makes it highly appropriate for agriculture, something that the government should fully support.

Local government authority, in this case the governor/sultan, and capital inflow from investors hampers the public’s aspirations.

The struggles of those who only defend the right to live decently are gradually eroded by investors and residents are locked into a circle of poverty and misery. This process is further reinforced by various rules to support their interests. This is reminiscent of the critical statement of sociologist Henri Lefebvre that “there is a politics of space because space is political”.

The practice of the “political” appears in the efforts of certain groups to compete for space by any means. I don’t believe that the Yogyakarta tourism campaign was apolitical. I think that tourism is a “political” force that is slowly trying to get rid of the agricultural sector using all means possible.

Naturally this is not an outcome that we want to see. Tourism should be developed, but not at the sacrifice of the agricultural sector.

Because in the bigger picture, the agricultural sector is far more important. The main key to solving this issue is of course the authority of the central government.

With their power and authority they have the ability to make a significant contribution to solving this problem. It is necessary to remember that Yogyakarta has different land regulations from other regions, so the government needs to pay close attention to this case.

 

The writer is a researcher based in Yogyakarta.