TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In a bit to improve welfare of Indonesian farmers, Forestry and Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya said that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) hoped that farmers’ land ownership could be increased.

The Minister said that one of the schemes requested by the President is by doing agricultural reform by means of land re-distribution She also said that currently, the average Indonesian farmers only have 0.8 hectare of land per one person.

"The President wondered if the average land (owned by the famers) could be increased to two hectares,” Siti said in a press conference at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta.

To reach the target, Siti said that the government needs at least 9 million hectares of land and for this project, she said, Forestry Ministry provides around 4.1 million hectares of land.

Siti also said that in addition to the land provided by the Forestry Ministry, the National Land Agency would also provide additional lands.

The Minister further said that there is 13.1 million hectares of land from production forest that can be converted into agricultural lands.

"From the figure, 6,500,000 hectares of land have been converted into agricultural lands, 900 thousands hectares of land lave been used for transmigration, and 1.1 million hectares of land are used for agricultural sectors.

FAIZ NASHRILLAH