Few days back Prime Minister spoke about integrated transportation system at the launch of Mumbai-Ahmadabad High speed Rail (MAHSR). Integrations and mergers reduce the overburdened bureaucracy, and inject the new life-blood and enhance efficiency. Many of ministries and departments have been merged or have been supervised by common minister to streamline the deliveries and to put development in top gear.
The ministries of Urban Development and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation were only recently merged to form the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Government has merged the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with the External Affairs Ministry in sync with its broad principle of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. Ministries of coal to be merged with mines have been in progress, and likely to be single ministry anytime soon.
So, is the case with every sector of economy from banking to telecom, from energy to social media, from agricultural seed companies to agro-chemical companies to take over global competition, market risk and huge non-performing assets. It is in everyday news that government wants few global-sized banks so many small banks are being taken over by large bank. State Bank of India is live example. So, is case with important PSUs whether it is oil, gas, airline, or utility company.
A step further in context to importance of merging and acquisition (M&A), consolidation of six giants in seed and agro-chemical sectors to behemoth three large giants to take over the global agriculture and to control the whole food system of world.
Bayer took over Monsanto, ChemChina took over Syngenta and Dow took over DuPont. Such consolidations would help these seed giants to play dominant role to control the supply over other areas in which they are already a ‘dominant player’ including fertilizers, pesticides and farming technologies.
Agriculture in India has always viewed as way of life and very integrated activity, including crop production, resource conservation, agro-forestry and livestock, in one seamless organic-whole. But fragmentation and division of agriculture is going on over for quite some years after independence. The rising trend of inter-disciplinary specialization and compartmentalization of related disciplines as subsidiary occupations calls for immediate attention to save the integrity of agriculture.
The loss of integration within the agricultural system as a whole tends to invite another agrarian crisis across India, the evidence of which can be felt with the lack of sustainability in farming, leading to over-exploitation of valuable natural resources and increasing cases of farmer suicides.
Agriculture is state subject and administered by numerous independent departments including agriculture, soil and water conservation, horticulture, animal husbandry, irrigation, seed certification etc to name few of them. These departments have been created over the years in the name of specialization and efficiency but such fragmentation have been creeping in over-bureaucracy, red-tappism, over-administration and over expenditure.
Further minimal exchange of information inputs, no-joint programmes, collaborations and collective approach among various respective departments have been caused much to damage rather than improving Indian agriculture if to be audited in socio-economic terms. Rather than benefiting the farming community and overall society, fragmentation put extra cost to state in terms of expenditure, inefficiency, and accountability.
Specialization and compartmentalization is not a problem as such, main problem is lack of inter and intra-bridges, co-operations and coordination among various departments and units of governance. Every department is working without any common and collective mission and approach to benefit the farmer, state and nation ultimately. Even most of staff in the department are poorly aware of for whom they are working or hired.
Lack of integration and compartmentalization also shift blame on each other in times of crisis, as agriculture as a whole is impacted by many uncalculated factors.
We need to merge, consolidate and integrate various agricultural and allied departments into single efficient, transparent and accountable departments to streamline the administration of agriculture. Otherwise this consistent fragmentation would enhance the outright control over various departments by few agricultural corporations who have merged and colluded to take control over the food supply and system of developing and agricultural economies.
The principle of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’ is also very much need of hour for Indian agriculture and as much valid as for other sector of economy and governmental departments' consolidation.
(This is second article in this series. Fragmentation crisis in Indian Agriculture could be read clicking below link.
http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=4388 )
http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=4388 )
