February 18—19, 2023, New Delhi, India
Session 01 – Setting the International Context: Global polycrisis and response of multilateral institutions
Speakers – Jayati Ghosh, Abhijit Das, D. Raghunandan, Anita Gurumurthy
Perspectives from Social Movements and Civil Society Networks – Pushpendra Tyagi (AIKS), James Herenj (RTF), Dinesh Abrol (AIPSN)
Moderator – Shalmali Guttal
The first plenary focused on critically examining the recent global developments that have important implications on agriculture, land and forests. These include the recent negotiations at multilateral fora such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The plenary discussed the post-pandemic response of the multilateral institutions and how multilateralism is being undermined through ‘multistakeholderism’ and through exclusive forums such as the G20 and Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The speakers in this plenary also discussed the challenges arising from climate change crisis and the rise of big tech and data capture and the implications on lives of millions of people depending for their livelihood on such crucial sectors as agriculture, land and forests.
Watch Session 01 Playlist on YouTube
Session 02 – Setting the national context: Policy responses to the crisis
Speakers – Dipa Sinha, Ranja Sengupta, C R Bijoy, Sagari Ramdas
Perspectives from Social Movements and Civil Society Networks – Archana Prasad (AIDWA), Ashok Chowdhary (AIUFWP), Jaya Mehta (JAISS), Soma K P (MAKAAM)
Moderator – Meena Menon
This second plenary focused on assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of government policies linked to agriculture, food, land, forestry, digitalisation and climate in responding to the needs of small-scale food producers, workers, adivasis and forest dwellers. The speakers discussed the deepening agrarian and food crisis in India, the implications of the recent spurt in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the misplaced government policies and priorities and the resultant challenges that people are facing.
