Against Overwhelming Concrete Jungle Construction

Nowadays, concrete jungle becomes hot news in our surrounding. Concrete jungle is the use of hectares rice fields into permanent buildings. Concrete jungle or land conversion in Indonesia has reached an alarming level. Every year, land conversion reaches the number of 110 thousand hectares. Many investors want to build hotels, factories, residences, and so forth in rice field area. This phenomenon will bring many disadvantages for people’s life.  Here are my views why we should against concrete jungle construction.

Most people agree to against investors who want to buy our rice fields because it will cause exceptional food crisis in the future. Concrete jungle construction by investors will make Indonesian’s condition is getting worse. We can imagine how poor Indonesia will be in a decade later if all rice farmers sell their rice fields to investors. The investors will change these beautiful rice terraces become luxurious hotels. There will be no rice field left. As a result, there will be no food supply. Indonesia has to import all the food stuffs from neighboring country. Initially, rice can be produced and gained cheap with a good quality in our own country, but later Indonesia has to import rice. What an apprehensive situation! Indonesia is an agricultural country, but Indonesia cannot fulfill its own food stuff.

UNESCO and government have forbidden concrete jungle construction. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have acknowledged traditional irrigation in Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, Tabanan as world heritage in 2011. UNESCO supports the effort of people to keep rice fields and never let investors buy this beautiful legacy. According to The Law No. 41 Year 2009 land of agriculture must be protected. Here people ought to increase their awareness to keep rice fields exist because rice fields are sources to keep Indonesia stay prosperous. Food supply is the main requirement for people to stay alive.  Last but not least, Provincial Cultural Office with the Regional Representatives Council (DPRD) of Bali Province initiated also a regulation of the irrigation. This regulation has been set on December 14^th, 2012 to protect rice fields from transferring function.  Therefore, farmer ought to save their own rice field from investors and never let our panoramic green belt change into thousand of buildings. Many strong supports from instances related should make people open their eyes to keep rice fields eternal now and forever.

In fact, some farmers let their fields to be sold because investors over plenty of money to them. Moreover, when farmers need money, it will be easier for investors to persuade farmers to sell the rice fields. By selling rice fields and getting much money from investors, it does not mean that economical of farmers will be better, it will be worse instead. According to research that has done by Rahmanto in 2002 showed that the lost of farming area in West Java and East Java reach the number of 1,5–2 millions/Ha and the lost of working opportunity reach the number of 300-480 HOK/Ha. Earning of tractor industrialist and hulling paddy also decrease 46-91 thousands/Ha because of land construction. From that data, people have to realize that concrete jungle construction makes many people who works in agriculture lose their job. Both of farmers and investors have to be aware that our rice fields as world heritage are something priceless. If people still want to eliminate green belt area in Indonesia, there will be so many farmers who become jobless.

The perception of selling rice fields to get more money should be examined because of several reasons, such as: concrete jungle construction can cause exceptional food crisis, UNESCO and government have forbidden concrete jungle construction, and it will make many people who work in agriculture become jobless. That is why, do not ever try to sell your priceless rice fields. I hope by refusing concrete jungle construction, all people in Indonesia can open their eyes to keep the existence of rice fields. If we fully believe that concrete jungle construction is a threat for the future, we will never think to do so. By keeping agriculture in Indonesia, it will bring prosperous life to us because Indonesia can fill the major food stuff by itself.