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For trade and development, 2025 is a year like no other. Tariff talks continue to grab headlines. But urgent action is also needed to stop the sun setting on trade development cooperation. This June in Sevilla, global leaders committed to scaling up Aid for Trade (AfT), including doubling AfT provision to the world’s least-developed countries (LDCs), by 2031. However, AfT—which accounts for about one-fifth of official development assistance (ODA)—remains highly exposed to some difficult development assistance challenges. 

ODA dropped seven percent in 2024. And this downward trend is accelerating, with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicting ODA declines of between 10 percent and 18 percent during 2027. LDCs are expected to experience the sharpest falls—of between 13 percent and 25 percent—in 2025. Statistics for AfT specifically are also sobering. In 2023, AfT disbursements fell six percent—from $53bn in 2022 to $50bn in 2023.

Meanwhile, trade needs—from addressing proliferating standards to deepening digital trade cooperation and finding ways to boost investment—are mounting. Targeted support is required to help developing economies, especially smaller ones, meet their trade needs, realize emerging trade opportunities and gain a greater share in global trade. 

Here are three ways we can help deliver on this, despite a challenging backdrop.

Maximum impact from resources

A wealth of knowledge on trade support has been generated over the years. So we have been working to capture experiences and lessons learned. One clear takeaway is that trade support should remain demand-driven, with tailored solutions helping translate global best practices into context-specific impact. For example, the Pacific Aid for Trade Strategy, which focuses on e-commerce, services and connectivity, has been helping to improve trade competitiveness in the region with limited available resources.

In addition, engaging local business remains vital for gaining real-time insights into the most pressing trade challenges, and tapping much-needed finance. For example, the Next Innovation with Japan Initiative has been providing venture capital to help startups in developing countries create new industries and jobs. Having access to information about best practices in trade negotiations and the implementation of trade rules can also be a game changer for policymakers in developing countries. 

Don Stephenson, trade and investment advisor to the Expert Deployment Mechanism for Trade and Development, made the point very well when he said: “Many trade development needs require large investments—to build trade infrastructure like ports and roads, or to increase productive capacity, such as through building factories. These investments must involve the private sector, where the big money is. But sometimes the development gap is knowledge. This is something that can be delivered through investments which are relatively small but that have a large impact.”

WTO’s trade support

The WTO’s technical assistance can play an important role here. Targeted and nimble trade support can help developing economies implement what’s been agreed and gain insights on the latest trade trends. Against a backdrop of declining resources, WTO members are exchanging ideas on how to do more with less, including by building strategic partnerships with international organizations, development agencies and academic institutions.

During my conversations with delegations, I often hear of the need for a one-stop shop for all trade support offered by the WTO. Another recurring suggestion is that we blend online training with face-to-face activities. Encouragingly, everyone agrees that focusing on the WTO’s most vulnerable members should remain central.

Rethink AfT

As we approach the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference and the 20th anniversary of the Aid for Trade Initiative next year, 2025 offers an excellent opportunity to reflect on where we are with trade development and where we would like to be. Australia and Barbados, for example, have put forward some ideas to revitalise Aid for Trade.

Over the past 20 years, $730bn has been invested in Aid for Trade to help developing economies, including LDCs, strengthen their capacity to trade. The vast majority of this—97 percent—has been directed at strengthening infrastructure and productive sectors. However, only three percent has been allocated to trade policy and regulations—areas that are crucial for helping create an enabling environment in developing economies for trade and investment. 

Focusing more on channelling trade support toward trade policy and regulations is therefore one practical way we can bolster the integration of developing economies into the multilateral trading system. To explore more ideas on how to help smaller economies boost their share of global trade, join the conversation at the WTO Public Forum on Sept 18.

The detrimental impact of conventional agricultural systems on ecosystems has prompted the search for more sustainable farming practices. The question of producing more diverse food without causing harm to nature has become a pressing concern. And for the past few years, agricultural scientists around the world have been working to find answers to this question. Climate Smart Agriculture, Regenerative Agriculture, Natural Farming, Permaculture, and many other “alternative agricultural systems” are trying to establish them as mainstream. There is a movement or effort to transition from conventional farming methods to these more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. Whichever the system has been proposed, their main theme is to start from soil.

The conventional agriculture system portraits soil only as a means of production. This perspective has led to treating soil just as a tool or resource to grow crops through exploitation. Heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, uses of heavy equipment, uncontrolled irrigation, heavy tillage, monoculture, etc., have caused the soil to suffer badly. 

According to the customs department of Nepal, 2024/25, the government of Nepal has imported chemical fertilizer worth Rs 36.44bn which was just Rs 14.33bn in 2013/14. The average use of pesticide in Nepal is 396 grams per ha, which has grown abruptly from past few years. By this rate, there might not be good fertile soil to produce our daily food items. The focus of gaining short term benefits tends to deplete the resources to produce food for the upcoming generation. According to PQPMC, Nepal has imported 1,183,741.24 ai kg of pesticide in 2022/23. 

Almost 10 years back in 2013/14 this import was only 454,595.98 ai kg. This result shows that use of pesticide has almost tripled in Nepal. The impact of use of these pesticides directly hampers soil living conditions. As soil health deteriorates, so does its ability to produce food. Degraded soil demands more inputs to sustain productivity, which raises agricultural costs and diminishes farmers’ profits. If this trend persists, the long-term sustainability of food production will be at risk, particularly in areas where soil degradation is most pronounced. 

As soil health degrades, its ability to produce food also decreases. Almost 87 percent of Nepal’s top soil is being washed away due to floods and landslides every year. In the recent flood and landslide of Mid Asoj 2081, the agricultural land has been washed away in Sindhuli and Ramechaap districts. The sand brought by the flood has been deposited on the arable land. This devastating situation will cause farmers around Sindhuli and Ramechaap to suffer badly in coming years. It is pretty certain that those farmers whose arable soil has been affected by flood must change their profession. This trend is seen every year in Nepal. Every year huge amounts of fertile soil is lost due to floods and landslides and farmers are forced to leave the farming profession. As a result, the population of farmers was 81.2 percent in the census of 1991, which was reduced to 57.3 percent in the latest census of 2021. And the number will keep on decreasing in the coming years too!

Soil, rather than means of production, is a living, sacred entity. It must be seen as a dynamic system full of life. There is a whole ecosystem of bacteria, fungus, protozoa and millions of invisible living organisms pursuing their own life cycle. These microbes work day and night to maintain the foundation for the entire life cycle on earth. Soil, like other natural systems, contains living microbes that work collectively to maintain its health and fertility. Because of all this, it should be nurtured and cared for as a foundation of all living organisms. The need of preserving soil has become an important topic not just for immediate benefit but for long term sustainable future. And the best way of preserving soil is by preserving life present in it—the microbes.

But how do we preserve or multiply soil microbes? In the pursuit of preserving and multiplying microbes, flawed practices have become predominant. Every time humans have intervened, there have been problems in the ecosystem. A similar situation has occurred for soil microbes too. In the name of preservation, humans have tried to mold for their own ease and benefits. Microbial culture or inoculants, including bacteria, fungi, nematodes and other microorganisms, are marketed for their potential benefit in agricultural sectors like productivity, enhancing growth, nutrient uptake and maintaining sustainability. The primary motivation of promoting these products has become profit generating assets for big agriculture companies. Commercialization of these inoculants has more financial motivation rather than soil conservation. It fails to answer the basic question of what consequences may arise on ecology, economy and agronomy by emphasizing only use of limited beneficial microbes in soil.

Some new practices like using Jeevamrit in soil are rising all around Nepal. In simple terms Jeevamrit is a microbial solution. But understanding it only as a microbial solution might be unfair about its dynamic use. It enriches the soil as a dynamic, living ecosystem. Jeevamrit fosters a symbiotic relationship with soil, balancing it as a natural, living system and enhancing its fertility without reliance on synthetic fertilizers. Some of the local government offices in Nepal distribute EM (Effective Microorganisms) solutions to farmers. While EM selectively promotes specific beneficial microbes, Jeevamrit creates a diverse microbial community, reflecting the complexity found in forest soil.

A philosophical question

Human intervention has created and will always create problems in the ecosystem. The ethical responsibility of selecting only a few beneficial microbes for their own benefits lies in the recognition that it can disrupt the balance of the soil ecosystem, and reduce biodiversity. Our relation with nature lies in its holistic approach. The use of limited microbes breaks the wholeness of nature. This can cause damage in resiliency and sustainability of the whole natural system. The need for a long sustainable future cannot be compromised for short term trivial benefits,

The resiliency of an ecosystem lies in its complexity. Selection leads to more simplified models, resulting in rupture of interconnectedness and complex ecological interactions. For centuries, farmers have come up with the solution of preserving soil without intervening in the way of nature. Easy, fast and flawed solutions of bottle packaged commercial products can result in the disappearance of traditional valuable agricultural practices of nature conservation. 

Prioritizing only beneficial microbes can lead to a reductionist view of nature. As Rachel Carson says- In nature, nothing exists alone. Humans in the present context have forgotten the broader societal views on nature. People for momentary benefits see nature as a source of exploitation without addressing the needs of future generations in both terms of agronomical productivity and ecological health. This short-sighted approach ultimately degrades nature, leaving depleted and compromised resources for future generations.

The use of technology to understand and manipulate microbial activity has potential risks, too. Technology has given humans to intervene in precision for optimum benefits. The commercialization of such microbial culture will not be possible without technological advancement. But use of technology has caused us to overlook the complexity of microbial communities and their working process. As Masanobu Fukuoka quotes “In nature, there is no such thing as waste. Everything serves a purpose. Technology has removed us from the natural process and has made us blind to this truth.” This statement suggests that there has been unintended imbalance in soil microbial activities and over dependencies on commercial products for short term financial gain. All these practices can cause the loss of traditional knowledge of seeing nature in holistic form and conserving it not only for human benefit but also for entire living creatures.

A practical question

Despite gaining technological advancement, scientists have not figured out the complete knowledge about soil microbial activity. For specific bacteria, there may be more than one strain and each strain may have different functions. Some strains can have a positive impact on soil whereas others may have negative. Using only beneficial strain can lead to significant reduction in soil microbial diversity. These introduced strains can dominate over native microbial species by competing with them for food, nutrients and other essential elements. The native microbes can perform a wide range of functions for smooth ecosystem functioning. The use of specific strains, say nutrient solubilizing bacteria, can only perform a single function of providing nutrients to plants. The dominance of this strain can cause reduction in performance of other native bacteria which leads to disruption in soil microbial harmony. Tiedje et al. (2001) found that using only a single bacterial strain for nitrogen fixation can boost nitrogen levels, but this results in suppression of other native beneficial soil bacteria. This reduction in microbial diversity can compromise soil resilience, making it less capable of adapting to environmental stresses like drought or diseases. When only a single strain becomes dominant it creates microbial monoculture, causing reduced soil resiliency and sustainability.

The survival of introduced strain depends highly on favorable environmental conditions. Unlike native strains, they cannot survive in stress conditions. Due to which those strains whose population is higher in some seasons might completely disappear in another. This can cause more harmful effects on soil health. During favorable seasons, the population of introduced strains increase rapidly suppressing the native ones. But sudden disappearance of those strains can create hollow in soil ecological functioning. The experiment conducted by Allen et al. (2003) found that inoculating crops with mycorrhizal fungi has initial benefit but during environmental fluctuation it fails to compete with native microbial population. This risk of potential failure needs more regular and careful monitoring. So, regular maintenance of such introduced beneficial strains comes up with more monetary investment. This ultimately puts an economic burden on small scale farmers around the world. A case study in the Journal of Agricultural Economics revealed that some farmers saw initial benefits from microbial inoculants but many did not experience long-term yield or soil health improvements that justified the high costs. So, more need for thorough economic evaluations before adoption is required for farmers.

Various microbial populations in soil coexist and interact with each other to maintain synergy for proper ecological functioning. This synergy is required for maintaining balance to perform agricultural activities. The breakdown of synergy can cause decrease in soil nutrient holding capacity, organic matter decomposition rate, nutrient cycling, soil compaction, reduced cation exchange capacity, increased soil borne diseases, and many other detrimental agricultural impacts. This results in complete failure of the agricultural system.

In the name of maintaining sustainability, use of bottle packed beneficial microbial culture/inoculants has been marketed widely. There might be certain short term benefits of using such products but the cost of it in the coming future must not be ignored. This temporary solution results in a cycle of continuous inoculation without sustainable improvements. The only way of preserving soil microbial harmony is to conserve the traditional knowledge and practices that farmers have been performing from centuries and transfer them to the upcoming generation for their sustainable future. It’s that simple.

The author holds a degree in Agriculture with experience in sustainable agriculture practices, agro-ecology, and permaculture design

Arundhati Roy goes:Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. 

Social movements usually rely on collective imagination to claim that “another world is possible”. For the people involved in social and political movements, this “another world” is imagined as a just, fair, and equitable society, where everything is orderly and harmonious. The same idea I found while talking to a couple of GenZ during their recent demonstration against corruption, misgovernance and social media ban in Nepal.

Nepal has witnessed multiple social movements aiming toward a collective desire to sustain democratic values, freedom, equality, social justice and accountability. The people’s movement of 1990 ended the absolute monarchy and established a constitutional monarchy, whereas the popular movement of 2006 dethroned the monarch and established constitutional supremacy. These movements drifted the nation away from authoritarian control and toward self-determination and freedom.

However, despite these uprisings, Nepal has not got the corruption-free and just society that the citizens fought for. When one regime fails, another adopts the same old system instead of dismantling the corrupt system. Many leaders who rose from the movements later became a part of the institution, where the ideals of justice got absorbed into party politics. One prime example is the leaders of the Maoist revolution, who joined mainstream politics after the 2006 movement and eventually became enmeshed in political power struggles by forgetting the ethos of the revolution.

Despite the re-imagination of a corruption-free society, Nepal got caught in a downward spiral because Nepali politics has long run on corruption. When the political ideals enter the political realm, they encounter power hierarchies and systemic corruption. The collective dream of an ideal state cannot survive the messiness of governance. Corruption or inequality isn’t just in “bad leaders”—it’s embedded in political and economic systems, social hierarchies and even thought processes. It is because human behavior, vested interests, and cultural norms are tied to the very injustices they want to change. 

Another reason why corruption thrives in Nepal is because the supposed opposition is nothing more than the government’s shadow. There is an absence of genuine opposition. Instead of holding the government accountable, the opposition has colluded in the same practices, which leaves no real voice for the checks and balances essential for a healthy democracy.

Social movements, then, act as critical mirrors of society. They show what is intolerable, highlight the problems in the existing society and demand something radically different. These movements turn imagination into political energy and invite society to re-imagine itself. Moreover, they help people imagine a better world together and take action to make it happen. Yet, justice and corruption-free governance are not single-issue goals. They require transformation at several levels—economic, cultural, political and personal. Different movements emerge to tackle different angles of this complex problem.

When the political ideals of the 2006 movement failed, Nepali youths began questioning the lifestyles of politicians’ children. Their brandishment of wealth and an elevated lifestyle, while commoners were forced to migrate to other countries in the Gulf and beyond for meager earnings, were intolerable. The country ran on remittance, and the citizens struggled for a decent life with basic education, health and other services. In such a situation, seeing the children of politicians living a lavish lifestyle agitated the masses. Using social media as a liberal platform, #Nepobaby and #Nepokid started trending. The ban imposed on social media added fuel to the fire, paving the way for the protest to move from digital platforms to the streets. The death of 19 young people on Aug 25 escalated the protest. In the aftermath of the protest, the buildings of all three bodies of the government—legislative, executive and judicial—turned into ashes and Nepal got its first female prime minister.

Even after the appointment of a new prime minister, the struggle towards a corruption-free state is far from over. It is just a stepping stone. Prime Minister Sushila Karki, a former Chief Justice, has many challenges to tackle. To uproot corruption is not an easy task, as corruption isn’t only a top-level problem—it has normalized into everyday practices such as bribes for jobs, favors in bureaucracy and informal payments.

Despite multiple movements emerging for the same end, a corruption-free state remains elusive. As a result, the same “end” is pursued repeatedly—it is never final, but always in process. The “failure” is actually a part of the utopian condition. Ruth Levitas calls utopia a method: it continually critiques, imagines and pushes boundaries, but does not deliver a once-and-for-all solution.

The necessity of multiple movements shows that utopia is alive—it keeps re-emerging wherever injustice persists. Nepal may not achieve its dream of an ideal corruption-free nation anytime soon. But the repeated protests, movements and revolutions are democratic processes that keep the possibility of achieving that end alive. That utopian dream remains somewhere out there on the horizon. For now, the achievement of movements like this lies in realizing democratic values and unifying voices against injustice. It reminds us that the citizens are the watchdogs and protectors of democracy.

The Nepali nationals are gradually breathing composed following a harsh national grief in this past week. Perhaps, no rational being would deny that the ill-intention of killing, burning, and looting in the name of change can never be a sensible vision. Even though change is not possible without revolution, yet every upheaval has minimum ethical limitations. The killings and destructions that took place in this revolt are not less than in a cruel war, going beyond the law of warfare. No patriotic national can make the nation suffer to that extent as the country has grieved. 

Amid a very chaotic situation in the country, the sensible role played by the Nepali Army is highly commendable. The national army has not only been a part of domestic peace and stability, but also that of the UN peace keeping mission since long. This institution has played a very patriotic role in restoring order in most difficult times in various courses of history. 

The utilitarian role played by the young dissenters in the post-revolt state is equally intelligible as they have strongly underscored the egalitarian values, stimulus of global geopolitics and sensibility of national security and sovereignty. The nature of the this revolution, however, is completely different than in the past, whereas the young protesters have openly claimed that their mission is just to “clean up” the prevailing “corruption”, “favoritism” and “impunity”, rather not to “finish off” the national institutions, democratic values and essence of pluralism. 

The “shadowy forces” must have been ill-intended to “fish in the muddy water” under their said mission—“system change”, claim some protestors who call themselves as the “real” protestor. The general public, to some extent, can accept as true their saying as they have not yet shown any greed for power or position following the revolt. Instead, some are already engaged in a “cleanup mission”. They are expected to be involved in the “rebuilding mission”, next.  While the nation needs massive reforms—from politics to bureaucracy to governance to education, all the young minds, irrespective of political inclination, should voluntarily be involved in “mission nation building” with an immense sense of patriotic morality. 

The hidden coward-interest of some criminal minds, indeed, will gradually be revealed in due course of time, yet many have already noticed them. The history will bring these cowardly individuals to justice and castigate each perfidious based on the degree of respective culpability. Amid national chaos, some so-called representatives emotionally fueled the young protestors with an ill-prospect of rewriting the constitution or transforming the liberal democratic system, which is a very immature and childish vision in contemporary politics. Writing a new constitution is not something like writing a poignant social media post just to amass gigantic likes or comments under the shrewd political stunt. Attaining political stability may not be so easy or smooth if the nation is forced to enter into the state of disorder and lawlessness. 

Every nation should be aware that some foreign political predators could play a vulturine role to influence the nation greater than it has witnessed previously. Thus, with patience, perseverance and prudence, the general voters should elect leaders or representatives having prudent vision and sensible prospects along with immense sense of patriotic morality, spirited civility, emotional maturity, and perceptual stability in the general election ahead. Meanwhile, nobody should undermine the rational role played by the political parties in the history of the Nepali democratic movement. No democracy can sustain without functioning political parties. 

The existing political parties, however, must accept that they have accomplished a “lesson” and also won in the sense that they are getting another chance to rebuild their image, take part in electoral process, win the heart of the general public and come back to serve the nation with a prudent intention. They have to safeguard the nation, national institutions, democratic values, rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity as always. 

The political parties, particularly those ardently believe in liberal democracy and pluralism, need to rethink on transforming themselves and, of course, the nation. If the election could not happen on the scheduled date at a time when there is no functioning parliament, the interim government could be liable to enforce national emergency by prolonging its power and presence. This could further induce greater chaos and uncertainty in the country, leading the egalitarian values in a greater peril. Thus, all the stakeholders of the nation—the political parties, bureaucrats, media and the general voters—need to be pragmatic, both by thinking and acting at this moment. 

The national parties and their leaders have additional opportunity to prove themselves as an icon of society, while their every role has to depict a real-sense of integration, social harmony, development prospects, accountability, stability, innovation, and nation building while delivering moral politics. The government or leaders come and go, but the nation and institutions remain forever. So, every responsible politician has a duty to enhance a nation’s sovereign dignity, irrespective of one’s politics or emotions. They must realize the core personality of the nation, nationals and corresponding soft potentials, and together attempt in preserving nation and national interest. 

Considering the country’s sensitive geo-location and super-sensitive global geopolitics, every nation should act with immense sense of patriotic morality and pragmatic prophecy. Every patriotic national has specific responsibility to safeguard the nation, national integrity, law and order, egalitarian values, socio-emotional cohesiveness, socio-national spirit, and the age-old legacy of the nation.

The political leaders should now be groomed with an utmost sense of political morality and culture. The past trend of mistrust, dishonesty and “finishing off” the opponents should now be transformed into collaboration and collectivism. To deliver ‘moral politics’ and move ahead towards socialism, they need to be equipped with a finely tuned sense of emotional and political intelligence. Democracy should not be understood or practiced only as “democracy of politics”, instead, it should be exercised as “politics of morality”. 

Politics, diplomacy and state of affairs need enormous patience, perseverance, peace, prudence, civility and ‘state of mind’ as essential governing attributes. While politics is not only about delivering aggression, incivility and viciousness; it is also about consolidating national accord, promoting national values, articulating a sense of belongingness, and inducing socio-emotional cohesiveness among the nationals. Thus, politics has to be a form of civilization where its stakeholders should work responsible for the greater goodness of people, society, nation, the planet and humankind. Essentially, the politics require immense sense of morality, pragmatism, patriotism, nationalism along with a ‘finely tuned’ sense of emotive intelligence that could play a prudent role in constructing dignified national identity, which would help uphold stately international relations. 

Yet the crucial concern is: How can the country make a marvelous headway—both politically and economically—amid the existing ferociousness? How can the country function efficiently and meticulously? Answering these two questions is key to identifying the systems—both political and bureaucratic—that the country should adopt to accomplish a prospective triumph.

The country has to massively invest in technology, innovation, infrastructure, research and development and wisely capitalize on 'soft powers’ and internal values including culture, civilization, morale, education, history, demography and geography. In effect, a very strict entry standards need to be set into both political and bureaucratic systems along with a sharp focus on building a robust system that could be rooted in a strong academic background, resilient public services, disciplined and systematic working habits, public civility, spiritual vitality, and an immense sense of patriotic morality.

Accordingly, the country needs to aspire to catch up the international development indicators—such as economic competitiveness, political stability, diplomatic influence, social integrity, quality of life, academic recognition, scientific and technological innovation, tech and data sovereignty, public services, and foreign policy. These international metrics can be achieved only when the vision and philosophy are turned into reality with pragmatic policy and action. Essentially, it is high time to be passionate enough to adjust and grasp the pace of transformation—both within and outside—and aspire to thrive by cooperating with the international community, particularly with development partners, including those in close proximity.