The livestock and veterinary departments in the newly merged districts are "stirring" to separate.
(Baonghean.vn) - Although the merger to establish agricultural service centers in the districts has not been long, the department in charge of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine is facing the "risk" of having to separate and merge into the provincial Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department.
Overlapping
Implementing the Party's guidelines and policies, legal regulations on innovation of the organization and management system, improving the quality and efficiency of operations of public service units (Resolution 6 of the 12th Central Committee, Session XII; Resolution 19 of the 12th Central Committee, Session XII; Decree No. 120/2020/ND-CP); in districts, cities and towns in Nghe An, from 2020, theAgricultural Service Centerwas established, on the basis of merging the plant cultivation and protection station; the agricultural extension and rural development station; the livestock and veterinary station (some localities also merged the mountainous rural development board).
However, when the decision was not yet "dry", on March 22, 2021, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 414/QD-TTg approving the Project "Strengthening the capacity of the veterinary management system at all levels, period 2021 - 2030"; and on July 23, 2021, the People's Committee of Nghe An province also issued Decision No. 2559/QD-UBND on promulgating the implementation plan of the project "Strengthening the capacity of the veterinary management system at all levels, period 2021 - 2030" in the province.
According to this project, the livestock and veterinary departments at the agricultural service centers of the districts must be "returned" to the provincial Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine for management. If this is implemented, it means that the agricultural service centers will not have enough 15 employees according to Decree No. 120/2020/ND-CP of the Government on the establishment, reorganization, and dissolution of public service units.
Present at the Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center, we learned that this center was established under Decision No. 2954/QD-UBND dated August 31, 2020 of the People's Committee of Nghe An province on the basis of merging 3 stations of the district: Plant Cultivation and Plant Protection Station, Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Station and Animal Husbandry - Veterinary Station. Currently, the center has 8 officers, civil servants and contract employees, while the assigned staffing target is 9 people.
Mr. Nguyen Trong Son - Director of Anh Son District Agricultural Service Center said that after the merger, in addition to performing functions and tasks according to regulations, it has contributed to reducing focal points, avoiding overlap and focusing the attention and direction of the District People's Committee in the process of directing agricultural production. At the same time, it helps reduce human resource pressure and improve the effectiveness of disease prevention and control, especially during peak epidemic periods.
Mr. Son said that according to the provisions of Decree 120, the unit must have at least 15 employees to be eligible to establish a public service unit. However, at the center, in early 2023, 3 people retired and transferred jobs, so now there are only 7 civil servants and 1 contract worker. 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. Although there is a shortage of people, if the livestock and veterinary department is separated to the Provincial Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine according to the approved Project, the center will not have enough employees.
In Hung Nguyen district, also in 2020, the district's Agricultural Service Center was established on the basis of merging 3 stations under the agricultural sector. Currently, this unit has 16 staff (enough according to regulations), of which the veterinary department has 6 people; plant protection has 6 people and agricultural extension has 4 people. If the veterinary department (6 people from the former Animal Husbandry - Veterinary Station) is separated to the provincial Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, it will certainly not meet the requirements on the number of employees according to Decree 120.
Mr. Nghiem Xuan Bao - Director of Hung Nguyen District Agricultural Service Center said: Obviously, after the merger, the number of contacts has decreased and under the management of the district, the unit has operated more effectively. If the livestock and veterinary department is further separated, the lack of people will be very difficult to compensate, because the staffing standards are very difficult.
Need to consider carefully
It is known that currently in the whole province, there are many agricultural service centers in districts and towns whose assigned staffing levels are not sufficient according to regulations to establish public service units (although the establishment decision has been issued by the Provincial People's Committee); specifically: Cua Lo town has 10 people, Thai Hoa town has 10 people, Hoang Mai town has 10 people, Tan Ky has 11 people, Quy Chau has 14 people, Que Phong has 13 people, Tuong Duong has 14 people. The remaining localities also only have about 15 - 18 people, if separated, the localities that are already lacking will be even more lacking and the localities that have enough employees will also be lacking.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Vinh - Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of Anh Son district said: After reviewing, the district has no unit under the district People's Committee with a similar role to the Agricultural Service Center, so it does not meet the conditions for reorganization according to Decree No. 120. This means that this center is at risk of being dissolved. Not to mention that if the livestock and veterinary department is separated, there will be even more shortage of people. Therefore, the district also hopes that the province will have solutions to remove obstacles, ensuring that the unit operates effectively, serving the agricultural sector in the area.
Mr. Dang Van Minh - Head of the Provincial Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department said: The regulation on the animal husbandry and veterinary station belonging to the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department has been stated in the Veterinary Law as well as the Project of the Government and the province. There have been 2 options proposed to implement this roadmap, which are to restore the status quo before the merger or to establish an inter-district station.
Some opinions say that separating the livestock and veterinary department from the district agricultural service center not only causes these units to lack people according to regulations, but the livestock and veterinary department may not have enough people to establish a new station (according to regulations, there must be 7 people working). Therefore, instead of separating, some districts can recruit more staff with livestock and veterinary specialties to operate more effectively; or strengthen coordination and direction in disease prevention and control. At the same time, there must be a specific assessment of the effectiveness of the units after the merger. If they operate stably and effectively, there is no need to separate...
It can be seen that the role of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine in the agricultural sector is extremely important. The restructuring of agencies and units of the agricultural sector is also for the purpose of improving operational efficiency, closely following the direction of levels, sectors and localities. Therefore, the separation or merger of these units needs to be carefully studied. This is something that deserves attention.