The question of "do those fields deserve resources" is answered as follows: are there interesting questions in those fields that we should ask and have answered (well)? I think the parent poster is saying: yes, there are.

This question is orthogonal to the question of whether the organizations currently conducting research in those areas are well-organized. You could fund them well and also demand re-organization as a condition. You could even find other scientists to do this work. But if you don't think the work is important, none of this matters.