Abstract
Regional agricultural development planning or integrated development planning in Indonesia was in operation until the 1960s. Since the 1970s agricultural or rural development has aimed mainly to correct imbalances among the regions and to pursue social equality among the different classes of the people. These policies were not only looking for economic growth but also making efforts towards eradication of poverty.
The recent 4th five-year development plan has been in operation since 1984. The main objectives of the rural development in this plan are set on (I) agricultural production which copes with the needs of the people, (2) development of cooperative activities, (3) creating job opportunities in the rural areas, (4) support to the poor, and (5) promotion of family planning.
According to the Ministry of Interior, The Government of Indonesia, the share of 'Swasembada (well-developed and viable villages) ' in the total number of villages was 22 percent in 1983. The Government expects it to reach hundred percent by the year 2000.
'Program Kabutaten' (Prefectural Program), 'Padat Karya' (Labor Intensive Work), and 'Program Subsidi Desa' (Village Subsidy Program) are other kinds of village development programs which aim to expand job opportunities and improve the infrastructure in the rural areas.
As a particular type of rural development, transmigration programs have been conducted in order to decrease the population pressure in the densely populated areas like Java and to give working opportunities to transmigrants in the outer islands. Agriculture is lain as the central concern of the transmigration programs.
The main tasks in the present rural development are (1) identification of target groups and effective assistance to them in the developing processes, (2) reformation in organizations and management of the development programs, (3) better land use planning, (4) improvement of transmigration program, and (5) securing people's active participation in the development programs.
