The numbers
On 27 August 2026, Governor Wayan Koster met agriculture students from Udayana University in Denpasar. He said Bali's rice field area had shrunk from 78,626 hectares in 2017 to 68,078 hectares now.
A month earlier, at a seminar in Badung, Koster estimated farmland conversion at around 700 hectares a year. If that continues, he warned, food production and the subak irrigation system will be at risk.
The rules in force
The key document is Provincial Regulation (Perda) No. 4 of 2026. It restricts the conversion of productive land and prohibits transferring land rights through nominee owners.
Koster also pointed to Governor's Instruction No. 5 of 2025 banning farmland conversion, and Governor's Regulation No. 99 of 2018, which requires hotels and restaurants to buy local produce.
Other measures
The province has named regional state companies as buyers of harvests and as links between farmers and hotels, restaurants and cafes. The idea is to make farming pay well enough that owners keep their land.
Koster noted Bali's low farmer terms of trade index (NTP), which stood at 104.14 in March 2025 against 123.72 nationally. "Productive land is shrinking, subaks are under threat," he said.
The tourism industry's role
The governor urged hotels, restaurants and cafes to buy from local farmers. A youth-led Agriculture Expo took place in July 2026, and an agriculture festival is planned.
The July seminar in Badung, where Koster gave the 700-hectare figure, brought together 140 agricultural academics from 31 universities in eastern Indonesia.