Is it wise to develop skills that do not immediately benefit short-term research productivity?
I think this is a good question, but I have only a brief, partial answer: you may have to accept that, in pursuing the interdisciplinary topics that interest you, the time and energy you spend will not be repaid with any kind of academic currency, but only in less tangible forms.  In other words, you may never get a better job, get an extra paper published, or even get an extra pat on the back from a colleague; but you may nonetheless, in a subtle and unsung way, advance the anti-specialization principles you espouse simply by doggedly producing quality work that embodies them.  This may sound cynical, but I mean it seriously.  Of course, you need enough tangible reward to keep your career going, but it sounds like you're asking about how or whether to invest the energy to go the extra mile above and beyond that.  It's possible to derive internal comfort from believing that you're doing your best to produce the kind of work you think needs to be produced, even if doing so doesn't earn you any praise or advance your career in any concrete way.  In the end, whether you continue to do this work will depend on whether you can be happy and sane doing it, and drawing strength from your inner conviction, rather than from external validation, can help with that.