Session 2B on Day 2 (November 7, 2025) of the International Conference on Agrarian Change was chaired by Shinu Varkey (Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, St. Berchmans College, Changanassery). The discussant was V. Surjit (Associate Professor, Centre for Agrarian Studies, National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad). The speakers were Akshay Subhashrao Deshmukh (PhD Scholar, Institute for Social and Economic Change), Kunal Munjal (PhD Scholar, ISI Bengaluru), Rachit Tiwari (London School of Economics and Political Science), Sejuti Das Gupta (Associate Professor, Michigan State University), and Ambika Subhash (PhD Candidate and JRF, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, JNU).

The session explored how FPOs, corporatised value chains, state-led agroecology, new horticultural capitalists, and illicit biotech seeds are reshaping agrarian relations, market power, and farmer autonomy in contemporary India.