The history of cropland abandonment in Nepal is relatively brief compared to the global context, but recent studies indicate that it is occurring at a significant rate and is expected to increase further. Among various drivers, policy and regulatory factors significantly influence this land use change, interacting with local contexts to shape reutilisation decisions and the effectiveness of policy implementation. Based on an integrated qualitative policy analysis, we identified the major constraints hindering the reutilisation of abandoned croplands from a policy perspective and proposed potential policy responses to address them. This study found that constraints on land, labour, incentives, and land governance policies limit reutilisation. Cropland-related issues, particularly ownership, tenancy rights, access to land, land ceilings, fragmentation and inheritance laws, strongly influence reutilisation decisions. Labour shortages, bolstered by labour migration-friendly policies and unregulated investments in land speculation, complicate the regulation of abandonment and reutilisation. Weak implementation of programs designed to manage croplands sustainably, poor institutional coordination, and conventional land governance systems further hinder reutilisation. Based on these findings, we propose five potential policy responses: (1) provision for land use rights transfer and improving access to land; (2) consolidation of fragmented parcels for economies of scale; (3) improved farm labour management and promotion of farm mechanisation; (4) measures to reuse abandoned cropland for high-value crops; and (5) strengthening institutional mechanisms, including local land governance capacity and administrative functions, to support reutilisation. This study contributes to discussions on policies and opportunities for bringing abandoned croplands back into productive use, not only in Nepal but also in other countries facing similar challenges.
Subedi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.