Many recommendations after the merger at Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Tran Nhat Minh - Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Law, full-time National Assembly delegate of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation. Also attending were Ms. Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Mr. Hoang Minh Hieu - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Law; and representatives of provincial departments and branches and Anh Son district.

Many recommendations

Agricultural Service CenterAnh Son districtwas established based on Decision No. 2954/QD-UBND dated August 31, 2020 of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee on the basis of merging 3 stations: Plant Cultivation and Plant Protection Station; Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Station; and Livestock - Veterinary Station. Currently, the center has 8 officers, civil servants and contract employees.

According to Mr. Nguyen Trong Son - Director of Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center, after the merger, the functions and tasks of the Agricultural Service Center have covered all activities related to agricultural production. In addition to some inherent functions of the previous stations, some new functions have been added such as seed and agricultural material services to help provide quality seeds and materials to farmers... The advantage is thatreduce the number of contacts, avoid overlap and focus the attention and direction of the District People's Committee in the process of directing agricultural production. In the process of directing production, preventing and fighting epidemics, departments in the Agricultural Service Center can support each other; help reduce human resource pressure and improve the effectiveness of epidemic prevention and control, especially during peak epidemic periods.

However, although the center has also cooperated with the District Farmers' Association, the People's Committees of the communes and opened business booths at the center, due to the development of goods, market economy, competition in business, and the lack of expansion of service business types, the results have not been as expected.

In addition, according to Mr. Son, currently, the conditions for establishing a public service unit must ensure a minimum number of 15 employees to complete the assigned tasks (except for public service units providing basic and essential public services established according to the provisions of specialized laws). However, at the center, in early 2023, 3 people retired and transferred jobs, so now there are only 7 civil servants and 1 self-supporting contract. In March 2023, the center submitted a request to the District People's Committee to recruit 2 more staff for the center, but up to this point, they have not been recruited.

In addition, the current implementation of the Project "Strengthening the capacity of the veterinary management system at all levels, period 2021 - 2030" separates livestock stations to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, causing difficulties for the unit in building development orientations for the following years, and confusion among cadres, workers and civil servants...

Not to mention, the center was merged on the basis of 3 stations, with 3 separate Land Use Rights Certificates located along National Highway 7, although the location is convenient but in reality it is not suitable. Meanwhile, the areas for storing plant protection drugs, demonstration areas, testing of plants and animals, which are really necessary, do not exist.

Ensuring effective operations after the merger

After taking note of the recommendations from the Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center, delegate Hoang Minh Hieu - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Law Committee, requested the local authorities to study merger options from several localities to have appropriate arrangements, ensuring that the Agricultural Service Center is effective in performing professional tasks. At the same time, limit waste of facilities and related infrastructure after the merger.

Some opinions of the working group also suggested that after the merger, Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center needs to strictly manage public assets, especially the headquarters of stations and farms, to avoid misuse. Ensure the successful completion of professional and technical tasks in cultivation, plant protection, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, agricultural extension, rural development; Provide technical services in cultivation, plant protection, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, agricultural extension, agricultural materials and agricultural science and technology services... in the locality.

Regarding the case of a contract officer at the center despite many years of dedication, comrade Dau Dinh Duong - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Home Affairs said: Increasing the staff for all levels and sectors in the area still faces many difficulties. To ensure the rights of employees, the center needs to complete the application for the local government to transfer the contract according to Decree 111/2020/ND-CP on contracting certain types of work in administrative agencies.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Tran Nhat Minh - Member of the Law Committee of the National Assembly, full-time National Assembly delegate, requested the Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center to complete the thematic report. On that basis, the monitoring team will synthesize and report the results to submit to competent authorities for research and resolution.