Editorial : Let Bayer-Monsanto merger go ahead

Should India’s competition authority oppose the proposed merger(मिलावट/समन्वय) of Bayer and Monsanto? China and Brazil have given the go-ahead, the European Union appears(आभास होना/प्रकट होता है) to be moving towards a favourable opinion in April, and the US authorities are right now setting conditions to let the merger go ahead.
On balance, India should allow the merger and encourage greater entrepreneurial(उद्यमी) energy in the area of crop protection, development of new traits and greater productivity in farming, placing a premium on the increasing role

technology and innovation(नवीनता/नई खोज) will have to play, to make farming in India globally competitive(विश्व स्तर पर प्रतिस्पर्धी) and a profitable economic activity. Many campaigners object to the proposed merger, dubbing it corporate takeover of an elemental(प्राथमिक/मौलिक) activity like farming(कृषि/किसानी). This is maudlin(भावुक/अतिभावुक)sentiment. In the absence(अभाव/अनुपस्थिति) of organised investment in crop sciences, the planet would support a couple of billion fewer(कम/कुछ) people than the current population of seven billion and counting. The claim that royalty fees on cotton seeds have led to farmer suicides is irrational(तर्कहीन/विवेकरहित): thanks to pest-resistant(कीट प्रतिरोधी) strains(उपभेदों/खिंचाव) of cotton, Indian farmers took to the crop in large numbers and India became the top exporter of cotton.

Agronomic practices play a decisive(निर्णायक/कड़ा) role in a crop’s profitability: Gujarati farmersthrived(सम्पन्न होना/अच्छे आसार) on irrigated(सिंचित) land, while Maharashtra farmers sowing the same seed in rain-fed areas struggled. Blaming crop sciences and the royalty payments they generate for farm distress is like blaming trains and cars for the hardship of cartwrights(गाड़ी बनानेवाला/) and horse breeders(प्रजनक). Farmers must, of course, be helped to adapt to higher levels of technology. India is on the threshold(द्वार/शुरूआत) of an agro-processing revolution: once stable(स्थिर/स्थायी) power supply in rural areas moves from rhetoric(भाषण कला/अलंकार शास्र) to reality, it would push up demand for farm produce on an unprecedented(अभूतपूर्व/बेमिसाल)scale(पैमाना/परिमाण). India needs new farm knowhow to be available, not aborted(निरस्त किया गया/अविकसित). The merger of Dow Chemical with DuPont and of Syngenta with ChemChina are not arguments against a third merger. Strong players need competitors with size and scale to challenge them. India also needs the startup ecosystem to move into crop sciences.

Important Vocabulary

1.Maudlin(भावुक
Synonyms: mawkish, mushy, romantic, sentimental, syrupy
Antonyms: pragmatic, unemotional, unromantic, calm, matter-of-fact

2.Irrational(तर्कहीन/
Synonyms: aberrant, absurd, crazy, foolish, incoherent
Antonyms: balanced, logical, rational, realistic, reasonable

3.Thrived(सम्पन्न होना
Synonyms: bloom, blossom, boom, develop, flourish
Antonyms: cease, decrease, fail, halt, lessen

4.Irrigated(सिंचित)
Synonyms: inundate, soak, flood, flush, spray
Antonyms: collect, gather

5.Breeders(प्रजनक).
Synonyms: grower, laborer, peasant, producer, rancher

6.Elemental(प्राथमिक
Synonyms: elementary, constituent, primitive, primordial, rudimental

7.Threshold(द्वार
Synonyms: brink, verge, dawn, door, doorstep
Antonyms: middle, completion, conclusion, death, disadvantage

8.Entrepreneurial(उद्यमी)
Synonyms: ambitious, enterprising, go-getting, gumptious, pioneering
Antonyms: denied, vetoed