Optimizing the Utilization of Village Treasury Lands: A Case Study of Five Villages in Central Java

Abstraksi

This paper intends to find out the optimal method of utilizing village treasury lands, through five case studies in Wonosobo and Kebumen regencies in Central Java. It uses the qualitative method, using observation and in-depth interviews of village heads, officials, farmers and beneficiaries of the village lands, conducted in January 2019. The paper finds that three forms of village treasury land utilization schemes are utilized in accordance with Ministry of Home Affairs Regulation 1/2016: rental, cooperation, and Build Operate Transfer/Build Transfer Operate. Two case studies are examples of the rental scheme, the first with an auction distribution scheme and the other with an allocated distribution scheme for the poor. The third case is a cooperation scheme involving the private sector, while the fourth case is another cooperation scheme involving a village enterprise (BUMDes). The fifth case is a Build Operate Transfer scheme for the construction of a local marketplace, financed directly by a number of villagers. The findings in the first two villages show that where land is distributed directly to villagers for farming, the expected increased wellbeing does not materialize, as their income is only increased by Rp 2 million-3.6 million per year. Conversely, in the other cases, where the utilization of the village treasury lands are done collectively, the increase in income is significant: from Rp 4.5 million (working as tea leaf pickers) up to Rp 105 million (as traders in kiosks in a rest area). Thus, the paper concludes that MoHA 1/2016 should be amended, as it currently makes the cooperative and BOT/BTO formats only permissible if the village government lacks funds for government projects; instead the regulation should prioritize initiatives by villagers who want to help themselves, either through, village enterprises or in cooperation with the private sector.