‘Hungry’ palm oil, pulpwood firms behind Indonesia land-grab spike: Report
Land conflicts in Indonesia escalated in 2020, with palm oil and pulpwood companies taking advantage of movement restrictions to expand aggressively, according to a new report.
These disputes have historically waned during times of economic downturn, but last year’s increase was driven by “land-hungry” companies, according to the NGO Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA).
Most of the conflicts involved palm oil and pulpwood companies, while infrastructure developments backed by the government were also a major contributor.
JAKARTA Conflicts over land flared up across Indonesia in 2020, as Indigenous and rural communities tried to hold off pulpwood, palm oil and logging companies ramping up their expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Protect farmers from Covid-19 fallout
Experts from 6 Asian countries for implementing adequate agrarian, social security reforms Staff Correspondent Staff Correspondent
Experts and researchers from six Asian countries have called for implementing agrarian and social security reforms to protect farmers from the adverse impacts of Covid-19.
They made the call at an international webinar yesterday. The event, titled Ensuring land and food rights at a time of Covid-19 and beyond , was organised jointly by Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and The Daily Star.
In his keynote presentation, eminent researcher Antonio B Quizon touched upon issues like increased rural indebtedness forces small farmers to sell off their homes and farmlands; agrarian reforms have slowed down as government s priorities have been shifted elsewhere; agricultural workers are not being properly paid; and pastoralist communities and indigenous people