Agriculture Department’s Speed “Not Above Six,” Says B. Ashok

Quick Summary

• B. Ashok,Principal Secretary (Agriculture) and Vice-Chancellor of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU),described the Agriculture department as a “slow” government body,scoring it 6 out of 10 for speed during a workshop.
• Comparatively, Mr.Ashok rated the Kerala State Electricity Board’s (KSEB) transmission wing at 8.5 for implementation speed based on his prior tenure as its Chairman and Managing Director.
• he acknowledged institutional cultural differences between departments while crediting the KSEB for being “very strong implementers.”
• The workshop focused on the World Bank-aided Kerala Climate Resilient Agri Value-Chain Modernisation Project (KERA), which aims to modernize agriculture with an emphasis on climate resilience.
• Mr. Ashok emphasized speeding up project implementation and decision-making within agricultural institutions like KAU.
• The event was attended by representatives from multiple organizations such as NABARD, State Bank of India, KAU, kerala Startup Mission, and others.

Indian Opinion Analysis

Mr. Ashok’s critique highlights systemic inefficiencies in government departments handling agricultural advancement in Kerala compared to other sectors like electricity distribution under his past leadership at KSEB. His call for cultural adaptation and skill-building echoes broader concerns about lagging implementation speeds in crucial public service sectors like agriculture that directly impact economic resilience.

The World Bank-backed KERA initiative stands out as a cornerstone prospect to drive progress through climate-resilient practices and capacity building among state institutions involved in farming activities. However, achieving desired objectives will require structural changes across agencies to ensure timely coordination between policy directives and field-level actions-an inconsistency noted by Mr. Ashok during the workshop.

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