“We must do everything to ensure that our limited land is of greatest benefit to the people and their children. Land must bring social, economic, and political strength to the people. I must give them a stake in the building of a strong nation and a vibrant democracy.”
His Majesty the Druk Gyalpo
Excerpt from the Royal Address in Granting Land Kidu to Lhuntse Dzongkhag
Bhutan is an agrarian country with more than 51% of its population dependent on agriculture as a main source of livelihood. Crop-livestock integration dominates the farming system. One of the main constraining factors for agriculture development is limited arable land, which constitute only 7% (664,000 acres) of the total geographical area. More than 31% of the total agriculture land is situated on slopes as steep as 50%. Currently, 2.93% (278,013.84 acres) of the total arable land is under cultivation with 172,086.85 acres under kamzhing and 77,462 acres under chhuzhing. According to the RNR census 2019, total fallow land accounts for 66,120.28 acres comprising 82.5% dryland, 13.55% wetland and 3.86% others. Majority of these fallow land of about 65,116.92 acres are owned by individual households. The primary factors contributing to fallowing of land are labor shortage, irrigation water shortage, human wildlife conflict and accessibility. The major issues resulting from fallow land include attraction of wild animals thereby exacerbating crop and livestock damages and discouraging active farmers from cultivating their land.
At the national level, increasing incidences of fallow land has a direct impact on national food security and import dependency. For instance, it is estimated that the opportunity cost of leaving 66,120 acres of land fallow translates to a production loss of approximately 15,486 MT of rice and 81,921 MT of maize.
Paradoxically, while about 66,120 acres of privately owned land remain fallow, the pressure on leasing state reserve forests (SRF) land for agriculture and other economic activities is ever increasing. As of 2020, 10,788 acres and 113 acres of state land are on lease and under Land Use Certificate (LUC) respectively.
Towards addressing the concerns, various interventions have been initiated in 12FYP (2018-2023) to intensify and upscale land development, rehabilitation and reversion of fallow land into productive use. Till date about 1276 acres of fallow land have been reverted into cultivation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economy and employment status of many people. Food trade disruptions and an increasing number of laid-off employees from other affected sectors have pushed people into agriculture underscoring its significance as a means of sustainable livelihood. As a result, the justifications for leasing state land, particularly for crop and livestock farming are on the rise in addition to the pressure from institutions. While the requests for allotment of land by different entities are genuine, there is a dire need to protect and preserve the limited arable state land from possible misuse and exploitation by institutions and individuals of power and influence for equitable and sustainable use in future.