Food represents a primary need for humans that must be fulfilled at all times (Mohamed and Patwary, 2021). On this basis, food is classified as a human right guaranteed in Article 27 Section 2 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, as well the 1996 Rome Declaration. To ensure the fulfilment of this right, the Government of Indonesia established Law 18 of 2012, the Food Law. In Article 1 Point 4 of the Food Law, food security is described as fulfilment by the state of its provision of food to individuals; this is reflected in the availability of sufficient food, both in quantity and quality. This food should be safe, diverse, nutritious, equitable, and affordable. It must not conflict with any religion, belief, or culture of the community. The food provided should sustainably support healthy, active, and productive lives for everyone in the community. As set out in the Food Law, Indonesia strengthens its food security and safety by upholding food sovereignty (Uddin et al., 2020). In addition to the Food Law, Indonesia is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).1 One of the SDGs is to achieve zero hunger through long-term agricultural productivity and by implementing a sustainable food production system that achieves food security and improves nutrition over time. National and international commitments to fulfil food security are based on the need to (i) fulfil human rights, (ii) develop the quality of the nation檚 human resources, and (iii) establish the foundations of national security. In reality, however, food security in Indonesia has still not been fully realised, with the current risk of a food crisis representing a critical issue for the nation (Yestati and Noor, 2021).
Based on the two legal issues mentioned above and the foundational research presented in previous works, this paper looks to fill the gaps in our existing knowledge that warrant holistic research into the legal implications of continued development of the Food Estate programme. Looking ahead, since this paper only focuses on the right of ownership, which is one of many land rights, other interesting lines of inquiry concern analysis of further types of land rights in Indonesia. Second, although historically many cabinets have worked on a similar initiative but using different names, the Food Estate proposed by President Joko Widodo is undeniably still in its early stage. In the future, therefore, researchers may be better positioned to investigate factual cases of land acquisition for the Food Estates, seeking to determine whether the law has provided sufficient regulation to protect citizens rights.
Legal Basis for the Right of Ownership
In Article 28H Section 4 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, it is decreed that: 淓veryone has the right to have ownership rights and such Right of Ownership may not be taken over arbitrarily by anyone. Article 28H Section 4 has a constitutional consequence, as it establishes the right of ownership as the only primary right among other land property rights, thus placing it in the strongest position and ensuring that no one (not even the government) can instantly confiscate a person檚 land. This is also reaffirmed in Article 20 Section 1 of the Land Law; this states that the right of ownership is hereditary, and the strongest and most complete of rights possessed by people in terms of their land. The provisions of Article 6 further distinguish the right of ownership from other types of land property rights. However, the right of ownership is not absolute, unlimited, or inviolable. As with other land property rights, such as the rights to build, use, and cultivate, only individuals are entitled to the right of ownership, and they must be Indonesian citizens. Article 20 Section 2 of the Land Law stipulates that the right of ownership can then be transferred to other parties in circumstances where there is a legal event
Regarding Land Acquisition for Public Interest
One of the mandates of Law 1 of 2020 about Job Creation (the Job Creation Law) is that land may be acquired for development in the public interest that aims to improve the community檚 or people檚 welfare or support economic activity/development, the ease of investment, infrastructure development, or basic services. To uphold the mandate of Law 2 of 2012 about Land Acquisition for Development in the Public Interest (the Land Acquisition Law) and the Job Creation Law (in particular, Articles 123, 173, and 185-b), the government issued Regulation 19 of 2021 about the Implementation of Land Acquisition for Development in the Public Interest (the Government Regulation on Land Acquisition). According to Article 1 Point 2 of the Land Acquisition Law, land acquisition is the act of sourcing land and providing appropriate and fair compensation to the entitled party. The same thing is also stated in Article 1 Point 2 of the Government Regulation on Land Acquisition, describing land acquisition as an act of obtaining land by providing appropriate and fair compensation. Based on Article 1 Point 3 of the Land Acquisition Law, the party entitled to compensation is the one who controls or owns the land in question. Furthermore, Article 1 Point 4 clarifies that the object of land acquisition can be above ground or underground space, or other areas that can be assessed.
Land Acquisition for the Public Interest as a Food Estate Development Procedure
The legal basis for land acquisition for Food Estates generally concerns land in areas of forest, as detailed in Ministerial Regulation LHK 24/2020; it may sometimes override the right of ownership in the public interest, therefore necessitating the transfer of ownership rights. Currently, the legal basis for this is regulated by the Land Acquisition Law, as amended by the Job Creation Law. Changes to the provisions of this law were followed-up by Government Regulation 19 of 2021 regarding the Implementation of Land Acquisition for Development in the Public Interest. Previously, when the Food Estate programme was included in National Strategic Projects, the Attachment to Government Regulation 109 of 2020 on the Acceleration of the Implementation of National Strategic Projects stated that land acquisition was expected to be necessary, as justified by Article 173 of the Job Creation Law.
Conclusions
Food is a primary human need that must be fulfilled at all times: the right to food is a human right. Indonesia, as a country committed to SDGs through Government Regulation 59 of 2017 on the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, has set targets and goals to eliminate hunger. These are to be achieved by maximising agricultural productivity and developing a sustainable food production system. Food Estates are an answer to the problem of determining how to ensure food security in Indonesia, and so the Food Estate programme was included in the National Strategic Projects, as stated in the Attachment to Government Regulation 109 of 2020 on Acceleration of the Implementation of National Strategic Projects. However, to implement the Food Estate programme, the government must source land with which to support food production; this creates a potential conflict of rights between the right to food and the right of land ownership.
Penulis : Sri Hajati Hajati, S., Winarsi, S., Nugraha, X., Ikbar, R.D. and Felicia, S.A. (2023): Land Acquisition for the Public Interest as an Alternative to
Building a Food Estate in Indonesia: An Effort to Achieve Proportional Justice. , Vol. 19, No. 1/2, pp. 314.
