Agrarian Relations, Institutions, and Land Reform in Nepal

Abstract

The chapter analyzes the main issues related to access to land and poverty, landownership distribution, access to land for women and the indigenous peoples, landlessness and lack of viable landholdings, land rentals, tenancy rights, and fallow land. It reviews existing laws and policies on land and land rights, land reform in the context of smallholder agriculture, and land administration. It also draws lessons for Nepal from the experiences of other countries in land reform. Finally, it makes policy recommendations to enhance the access to the landless and marginal farmers to land and also to improve access to vital infrastructure such as farm roads and irrigation, technical support system, marketing, and land consolidation, which are vital for agricultural productivity enhancement and income increases.