Research Resource Allocation in Indian Agriculture

Research resources in agriculture are becoming inadequate in meeting the complex challenges, at both macro-and micro-levels. The situation was different in the past when the research resources were growing at the national level, and the states followed the suit. Therefore, there was not much concern to systematically compile and document these resources at different levels across commodities and regions. The routine financial reporting used to be done for public expenditure. In the past, allocation of research resources has been done based on the subjective judgment, which largely relied on the knowledge of research managers. This proved well in the past to meet the challenges, including food security. The scenario has completely changed now. New problems have emerged at the regional, national and global levels, these are more complex than used to be in the past. These need to be documented and supplemented adequately by additional information and detailed analysis. This could not be done due to lack of quantitative information on deployment of research resources in the national agricultural research system. This Policy Paper contains very useful and rare information on different dimensions related to allocation of research resources in Indian agriculture. For the first time, a census of agricultural scientists has been done to assess the allocation of research resources across different agricultural disciplines, commodities and regions. The paper also contains deployment of human resources by activities and commodities, which is expected to be useful in their optimal allocation for improving research efficiency. The Policy Paper is the part of the National Professor scheme, which was led by Professor Dayanatha Jha, and co-piloted by Dr Sant Kumar. Unfortunately, before publication of this remarkable contribution, the first author left for heavenly abode, after a brief illness. Till his last breath, Prof Jha used to discuss the outcomes of the research and its implications on future directions for allocation of research resources. I pay my heartfelt homage to him. I congratulate Dr Sant Kumar for his active participation in the study and bringing out this Policy paper.