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The credit and financial access are urgent needs for agricultural development. This paper has attempted to find out present status of agricultural credit and their prevalent challenges and problems. The study is fully based on the statistical data, reports and findings of MoALD, MoF, NPC, NRB, and other relevant publications. The Government has targeted to expand agricultural credit through banking and financial institutions (BFIs) by implementing several acts, policies, strategies and programs through NRB, MoALD and MoF. However, constraints like credit ceiling, high value collateral demand, limited redemption facilities, limited agriculture insurance, financial illiteracy, lack of farmer friendly technologies, and poor monitoring and regulation of BFIs are responsible for lower credit expansion. Thus to promote and motivate BFIs and farmers to invest in agriculture, government need to address these challenges. The study also suggests to segregate farmer according to demand of credit volume and expand the branchless banking.

An experiment was conducted to evaluate tomato hybrids (Lycopersicon esculentum) for qualitative attributes of tomato fruits in Horticulture Research Division, Nepal Agriculture Research Council, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal. Fruits from newly developed eleven hybrids from council and an existing popular tomato hybrid, "Srijana" were selected to evaluate and characterize yield and quality attributes. In this study vegetative character, fruit quality parameters and yield of tomato hybrids were observed and recorded. Fruit quality parameters of each hybrids were distinctly varied with each other. Indeterminate growth habit was observed from HRA 13 HRD 7, HRA 14 HRD 7, HRA 17 HRD 1, HRA 17 HRD 1, HRA 20 HRD 4, HRA 20 HRD 1 and Sirjana while HRA 15 HRD 6, HRA 16 HRD 1, HRA 16 HRD 4 and HRA 20 HRD 6 showed determinant type of growth habit. The total fruit yield per hectare ranged from 80.83 ton/ha (HRA 14 HRD 7) to 45.89 ton/ha (HRA 15 HRD 6). Yield of hybrids HRA 13 HRD 7, HRA 13 HRD 7, HRA 20 HRD 1, HRA 20 HRD 2, HRA 20 HRD 6and HRA 16 HRD 1 had 78.50 ton/ha, 73.75 ton/ha, 70.44 ton/ha, 68.72 ton/ha, 64.64 ton/ha respectively which were superior to an existing popular variety, Srijana (62.33 ton/ha). Hybrids having indeterminate growth can be recommended for plastic house cultivation and hybrids with determinate growth habit will be suitable for seasonal cultivation. Study on consumer preference and multiyear multi location trial of the good performer hybrids is to be done before recommendation and promotion of these hybrids in Nepal.