Konversi Lahan dan Pilihan Petani

This paper reports the assessment of what factors determines farmer’s decision to convert their farm land (rice field) into other uses, especially business and residential. We sampled 40 farmers in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta as a case. In addition to their social characteristics, we asked them the willingness to accept for their land if someone else wants to buy and convert it into other uses (residensial or business) and how much the compensation their asked if the regency of Sleman ask them to preserve it. Based on the farmers expected return from their farming and their social characteristics, we found that farmers tend to preserve their land. This decision is supported when they have other sources of income, farm their own land, have larger size of land, and the further from the urban. Such information is useful to the Regency of Sleman once it needs to preserve its farming area to increase the water catchment and the reduce of the green house effect of converting the farm land (rice field) into residential or business. This is true to the fields close to the urban areas.