PAA:
So you mean to say that there should be a mitzva to love the land so that people should live there (never mind that whatever mitzva there may currently be is far from universal)?
By that logic, there should be a mitzva to love Tefillin and Shabbos and all the others. If people love Tefillin then they’re more likely to lay Tefillin, too. Obviously, this is not a reason to institute a new mitzva to love something.
Again, as mentioned above, why is “Ahavat Eretz Yisrael”, emphasis on “Ahavat” perceived as a Jewish value (or even a major mitzva in certain circles), one that is perceived as an advantage to sending to seminary in E”Y as proposed earlier?