Deep-seated frustration

Chief Minister of Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, is known as a hard task master; he therefore also expects his subordinates to perform their work diligently and efficiently. Chairing a workshop on "Prospects of GM Cotton in Punjab: Opportunities and Challenges" in Lahore, and showing frustration over the failure of cash crops, he criticised top officials of the agriculture department, heads of research institutes and agriculture universities for extensively attending training programmes abroad on government expenses and delivering little or nothing to improve the productivity of cash crops. The provincial chief executive gave these top officials three months to produce better results or go home and promised to replace them with young blood if they failed to deliver. He asked specifically why the problem of cotton pest attack had not been solved and why the people involved in manufacturing and distribution of spurious pesticides were not put in jails. Exemplifying the level of lethargy, Shahbaz Sharif stated that the government of Indian Punjab had gifted him a modern combined harvester and he had asked the concerned officials to replicate and market the machine but he was shocked to learn that no progress was made in this connection. When an official replied that scientists working in a local research lab had developed better quality of genes resisting cotton pests, the Chief Minister said he wanted to know the reason for not using the improved version of cotton seed. The answer was that procedural issues had delayed its introduction. He also warned the officials to control the menace of theft of canal water which had defamed the Punjab government.

We don't know whether the warning of Shahbaz Sharif would cut any ice with the concerned officials and force them to change their work ethics, but snubbing by the Chief Executive of the province was badly needed, in fact long overdue. Those who are aware about their routine and performance know that officials in the research departments and other related organisations in the government are more interested in the advancement of their careers, perks and privileges and postings rather than in conducting research and its proper application in the field to promote productivity in their designated fields. To start with, they get proper education in Pakistani or overseas universities and are employed in good positions in the government through Public Service Commissions, but their performance in offices is later marred by a lethargic and indifferent attitude towards work because their postings and promotions are generally dependent on the length of service and better connections in the concerned quarters and not on their contribution. The level of their performance could be judged from the fact that per acre productivity in our part of Punjab is lower than East Punjab in India though the quality of soil is almost the same. This is despite the fact that the government has been extremely keen to promote agriculture sector and focusing on improving agricultural productivity to enhance profitability for the farming community, ensure competitiveness and accelerate the growth process. The recent package of Rs 341 billion for the agriculture sector is an example of giving priority to the agriculture sector in budgetary allocations. The officials in the research institutes used to complain about their low packages but their salaries in the past few years have been increased to a level which is comparable with the private sector.

Although Chief Minister talked about the agriculture research institutes, etc, in the workshop the same logic could easily apply to other research institutes and departments in the country. If the concerned research officials had pulled up their socks, dirtied their hands and developed necessary connections with industry and other sectors like in so many other countries, production and incremental capital output ratio (ICOR) would have improved a lot and unemployment and poverty could have been reduced in an effective and meaningful manner. In our view, dressing down of research officials by the Punjab Chief Minister was necessary to motivate the officials to work harder, reap the benefits of their knowledge in the relevant fields and gain a competitive edge in the international market. However, three months given to the officials to come to the expectations of Shahbaz Sharif constitute too short a period to produce the desired results. Since the situation in other provinces is no better than what is in Punjab, chief ministers of other provinces could also take a cue from the above message and act accordingly. Educational qualifications and training are useless if these cannot be employed in a productive manner.