Problems of Agricultural Development
Agricultural is regarded as the backbone of the Nepalese economy. But agricultural development is not satisfactory. Agricultural production and productivity are low. Nepal, once a grain exporter country, but now has been a grain importer country. Agriculture in Nepal has been facing a number of problems as follows:

1. Pressure of population on land:
The population of land is already very high and ever increasing. The annual growth rate of population is 1.4 % since the non-agricultural sector has not been still developed. The increased population, all depend on agriculture. Due to this excessive pressure of population, production and productivity are very low in the agricultural sector.

2. Use of old technique:
Agriculture in Nepal is based on traditional technology. Majority of farmers are illiterate and poor. So, most of them are either ignorant or unable to use appropriate new techniques, improve seeds, fertilizers, insecticides, etc. As a result, there is no improvement in the agricultural system.

3. Lack of agricultural credit:
Majority of Nepalese farmers are poor. They need adequate credit to make the investment in agriculture. Agricultural development banks have been established in several parts of Nepal, for providing agricultural credit. But the facilities do not reach the majority of the poor farmers.

4. Lack of marketing facilities:
The agricultural marketing system in Nepal is unorganized. The farmers are compelled to sell their products to a local shopkeeper. Thus, they are not encouraged to invest and produced more. There is no guarantee of receiving a reasonable price, due to the lack of marketing facilities.

5. Lack of irrigation facilities:
Sufficient irrigation is required for agriculture, But Nepalese farmers are almost dependent on monsoon due to the lack of irrigation facilities which affect agricultural products badly.

6. Lack of agricultural research:
Adequate research activities should be conducted for the improvement in agricultural practices and an increase in agricultural productivity. But research activities, conducted in Nepal are not adequate and non-farm-based. Thus, lack of agricultural research has hindered the agricultural development in Nepal.

There are other problems of agriculture in Nepal such as lack of improved seeds and fertilizers, lack of transportation facilities, lack of storage facilities defective government policy.

Remedial Measures
The agricultural sector faces serious problems. Despite the continuous efforts by the government, for its development the remedial measure for these problems are as follows:

1. Control of population growth:
The pressure of population on land has created various problems. Thus, the population pressure on agricultural land should be reduced by controlling the rapid growth of population and diverting agricultural labour to other sectors of the economy.

2. Technical improvement:
The technical production techniques help to raise agricultural productivity. Thus the production techniques should be improved to solve the problem.

3. Provisions of adequate credit:
Most of the farmers are poor. So, the provision of agricultural credit should be made available at the lowest possible rate of interest to small and marginal farmers. The credit facilities through different banks and financial institutions should be expanded so that maximum numbers of farmers have easy access to credit facilities.

4. Marketing and storage facilities:
The farmers have not been able to get a reasonable price due to the lack of adequate marketing and storage facilities. Hence, marketing and storage facilities should be made available so that they get a reasonable price.

5. Development of irrigation facilities:
Nepalese agricultural production depends upon monsoon, which doesn’t occur timely and also inadequate. So, that irrigation facility has to be extended throughout the country to increase production and productivity.

6. Effective government policy:
The government should help to adopt appropriate and effective policies for agricultural development. The government should help to make efforts to utilize the resources to the agricultural sector and make credit facilities easily available to the farmers.

There are other remedial measures such as provides improved seed & fertilizers, adequate agricultural research, development of transportation & communication, promotion in agro-based industries, etc.