FLB stands for Fallow Land Bank. A fallow land bank is a platform that will allow landowners to deposit and lease fallow land for agricultural purposes (including livestock) with certain fees and rents.
The fallow land to be registered with FLB should have the potential for agriculture with low gradient and accessible to motor roads and irrigation water source.
FLB is to:
Create a formal platform for leasing fallow land for agricultural purposes.
Facilitate and encourage fallow land reversion to enhance national food security.
Help protect arable SRF land for perpetuity.
Existing policies and legal instruments such as The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan, Land Act of Bhutan 2007 and the Tenancy Act of Bhutan 2015 form a solid foundation for FLB initiative.
The FLB is a joint initiative between NLCS and MoAF to put fallow land into productive agricultural use. The FLB will be instituted within the existing system of the NLCS/MoAF.
The benefits of FLB include, but not limited to the following:
Help in reverting fallow land into productive use.
A win-win solution for both the lessor and lessee.
Rights of lessor and lessee will be protected.
Ease procedures of land lease.
Receive support measures for fallow land reversion as per the existing cost sharing mechanism of the MoAF.
Offer payments based on the tenure and size of the holding with additional benefits if the land is leased out.
Lessee: A person to whom the land is leased out.
Lessor: A person who provides the land for lease.
Land owners who do not want, or are not able to cultivate their land can deposit in the FLB. On the other hand, interested parties, who are either landless or have limited land, can take such land on lease and use it for agricultural purposes.
Provide technical and financial support to address main constraints such as land development, irrigation, HWC, farm mechanization, access to quality inputs, markets, etc.,
Facilitate allotment of fallow land on lease including obtaining clearances as deemed necessary
Provide land exchange, consolidation, realignment of fallow lands where technically required.
Provide technical backstopping for dispute settlement that may arise if any.
The FLB advisory committee will decide the lease rents based on the market force, existing practices and prevailing fees for land lease. The lease rent as decided will be made available through FLB web portal housed at NLCS.
The FLB advisory committee will decide the lease rents based on the market force and existing practices, and also prevailing fees for land lease. A minimal processing fee (Nu.50/100) shall be levied on lessee for leasing out the fallow land.
You can either apply through LG offices or apply online through the FLB portal housed at the NLCS.
Lease tenure shall be categorized as below:
Short term (up to one year)
Medium term (up to three years)
Long term (more than 3 years)
The lease renewal shall apply to all categories of lease as long as the land remains in the bank. The lessee should apply for renewal 6 months before the expiry date.
The existing lease shall be transferred only in case of demise of either the lessor or the lessee, where the existing lease can be transferred with identical terms and conditions within six months.
If the lessor withdraws the land from the FLB before the end of the lease term, the lessee shall be eligible for compensation for the developments undertaken on the land as per the terms of the lease agreement. Likewise, if the lessee terminates the lease before the end of the lease term, the lessor is entitled to compensation based on the terms of the lease agreement.
The local authorities (Dzongkhag and Gewogs) will monitor the leased land on a periodic basis.
The mortgaged land registered under FLB can still be leased unless defaulted.
The fallow land leasing is solely for agriculture purposes; other uses are restricted.
The defaulting party is liable to pay compensation as per the terms of the lease agreement.
The compensation will be estimated based on the investment made on the leased land.
On a case-by-case basis, SRF land adjacent to the fallow land or other land registered for leasing out may be considered. But this will be considered only after thorough assessment.
The period to lease out the deposited land shall be determined by the applicants from the lessee. Once the lessee has applied for lease for a particular land, the lessor shall be notified and called for further proceedings.
FLB is open to all the interested land owners (both fallow land and non-fallow land owners) who wish to deposit or lease out their land through FLB platform. So FLB is not just for fallow land owners only.
All the fallow land and other land registered for leasing out will be mapped out for all the Dzongkhags and can be viewed through FLB portal housed at NLCS.