Land reform or land settlement : shifts in Indonesia"s land policy, 1960-1970

The land reform was planned to be a two-stage operation, setting a higher priority for the densely populated islands. Some of the major targets of Indonesia"s Agrarian and Land Reform were undoubtedly political; the program was placed in the context of such other government efforts as intensification of cultivation, interisland migration, and industrialization. Shortage of capital, inadequate programming, insufficient expertise, and bad timing were some of the major factors which greatly reduced any chance of successful implementation. Because of political and military problems and a lack of coordination in and between the ministries responsible, 35-45 percent of the available land remained undistributed by 1969. Land settlement, or "transmigration" has been going on both on a government subsidy basis and on a privately financed basis. Unfortunately, a lack of irrigation forced settlers to supplement rice growing with the cultivation of cassava. Now agrarian and land reform no longer attract the government"s interest. The current five-year development plan puts budgetary emphasis on irrigation, road building and agriculture.