A GROUP of officials who said that they were from the North Sumatra Forest Utilization Agency came to the Ria-Ria village in Humbang Hasundutan, North Sumatra, located southeast of Lake Toba, in August 2021. To village chief Jon Ferdianus Lumban Gaol, they asked for permission to erect land boundary markers for the food estate program.

The government has chosen the village situated in a hilly area to become a pilot village for the implementation...