Agriculture Law

1. Citation. This Law may be cited as the Agriculture Law.

2. Interpretation. In this Law- "The Appropriate Authority" means the member of the government of the State for the time being charged with responsibility for agriculture; "Board" means the Board of Agriculture established under section 4; [W. R. 42 of 1959.] "Examiner" means any officer of the ministry not below the rank of Agriculture Assistant and any person appointed as an examiner under the provisions of this Law or of any regulations made hereunder; [W. R. 42 of 1959.] "Member" means member of the Board and includes the Chairman; "The Ministry" means the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources; "Noxious Weed" means any weed harmful to man or beast or injurious to agricultural crops; "The Permanent Secretary" means the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry; "Pest" means any insect or other animal injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops; "Plant" means any plant or parts of a plant such as cuttings, suckers, bulbs, tubers, roots, haulms and fruit, but does not include the true seed unless this is expressly stated and does not include the manufactured or processed products of plants; "Plant Disease" means any disease caused by fungus, bacterium, virus, or any other organism injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops.

3. Appointment of Examiners. There may be appointed fit persons to be examiners for purposes of this Law.

4. Establishment and functions of Board of Agriculture. (1) There shall be established for the purpose of this law a Board to be known as the Board of Agriculture. [W.R. 42 of 1959, LBSN 1976, Cap. 6] (2) It shall be the duty of the Board to advise the appropriate authority on- (a) any matter pertaining to agriculture, and (b) any matter relating to the administration of this Law, that may be referred to it by the appropriate authority. (3) The officials of the Ministry of Agriculture may perform any or all the functions of the Board with like powers, privileges and immunity until the Board is constituted or during temporary dissolution of the Board. (4) The appropriate authority shall consider any advice he may receive from the Board, but he shall not be bound to accept such advice.

5. Constitution of Board and other matters relating to membership. (1) The Board shall consist of a chairman and not more than ten other members, all of whom shall be appointed by the appropriate authority from among persons appearing to him to be qualified as having had experience of, or as having shown capacity in, matters relating to agriculture. W.R 42 of 1959. (2) The appropriate authority may appoint any person to act temporarily in the place of the Chairman or any other member in the case of absence or inability to act of the Chairman or such other member. (3) The Chairman and other members shall, subject to the pleasure of the appropriate authority, hold office for three years from the date of their respective appointments but shall be eligible for reappointment. (4) Any member other than the Chairman may at any time resign his office by letter addressed to the appropriate authority and transmitted through the Chairman, and such member shall cease to be a member of the Board as from the date of receipt of the letter by the appropriate authority. (5) The Chairman may at any time resign his office as Chairman or as a member by letter addressed to the appropriate authority, and such resignation shall take effect as from the date of receipt of the letter by the appropriate authority. (6) The names of all members of the Board as constituted from time to time shall be published in the State Gazette.

6. Procedure and meetings of the Board. (1) The Board shall meet at such times as may be necessary or expedient for the transaction of business and such meetings shall be held at such places and times and on such days as the Board may determine. W. R. 42 of 1959. (2) The Chairman may at any time call a special meeting of the Board and shall call a special meeting to be held within seven days of a written requisition for that purpose addressed to him by six members. (3) The Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Board at which he is present and, if he is absent from any meeting, the members present at that meeting shall select one of their number to preside thereat. (4) The Chairman or the member presiding at a meeting of the Board in the absence of the Chairman shall have an original and a casting vote. (5) The quorum of the Board shall be five including the Chairman or member presiding at a meeting in the absence of the Chairman. (6) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section the Board shall have the power to regulate its own proceedings, and may make Standing Orders for such purpose. (7) The validity of any proceeding of the Board shall not be affected by any vacancy amongst the members or any defect in the appointment of a member.

7. Powers to make regulations. (1) The Appropriate Authority may make regulations - (a) for the control of diseases, pests or weeds, for prohibiting temporarily the growth or cultivation of any plant or crop during specified periods of the year, for prohibiting the sowing or planting of any kind of plant, for specifying any particular kind of seed or plant, as the only kind permitted to be used, or for controlling the distribution of any kind of seed or planting material; (b) for maintaining and improving the quality of agricultural or horticultural plants, fruit-trees or crops, and for purposes incidental to such maintenance or improvement, including in the event of disease or pest infestation the destruction or the replacement of any plant or tree and the destruction of any crop or part thereof; (c) prescribing the measures to be taken for conserving the soil and combating soil erosion; (d) for prohibiting, restricting or controlling the distribution and use of artificial fertilizers and for the marketing, chemical composition, or quality thereof; (e) prescribing penalties for offences against any regulation made hereunder not exceeding a fine of two hundred naira or imprisonment for six months or both; (f) specifying fees, expenses or charges to be paid in respect of any matter or act for which provision is made in any regulation; (g) generally for carrying into effect the provisions of this Law. (2) Nothing in this Law shall be construed so as to make it obligatory for the Governor to obtain or act on the advice of the Board, before making regulations under Subsections (1).

8. Power to destroy or treat infected plants, etc. (1) Where plants, seeds, soil, containers, straw or other packing materials, or any other similar goods or things, are found, or suspected, to be infected with any plant disease or pest, an officer of the Ministry not below the rank of agricultural officer may order them to be destroyed or treated to his satisfaction for the removal of the plant disease or pest. (2) Where any plants or crops, whether growing or not, or any produce are found, or suspected, to be infected with any plant disease or pest, or where any noxious weed is found to be growing in any place- (a) an officer of the Ministry not below the rank of Permanent Secretary may make such order as he may deem necessary for the treatment of such plant disease, pest or noxious weed; and (b) upon the failure of the owner of the plants or crops to comply with any such order, the officer who made the order or any person authorized by him in that behalf, may, if such officer deems it necessary in order to prevent the spread of the plant disease, pest or noxious weed, enter upon any land or premises and carry out such measures as may be necessary, at the owner’s expense.

9. Right of entry to take samples. For the purpose of carrying out his duties under this Law or any regulations made hereunder, any examiner shall have power to enter, at all times which are reasonable, any building or place in which he has reason to suppose that any plants, crops or parts thereof which are subject to regulations made under this law are stored or grown and take samples of such produce.

10. Furnishing of information. (1) An officer of the Ministry not below the rank of Assistant Agricultural Officer may call upon any person to furnish him with any information he may reasonably require for the purpose of investigating any offence against this Law or any regulations made hereunder. (2) No person who obtains any information by virtue of this section shall, otherwise than in the execution of his duties under this Law, disclose that information except with the permission of the Governor.

11. Offences. (1) Any person who- (a) hinders or molests any Agricultural Officer, or other person charged with any duties or powers under this Law or any regulations made hereunder, in the exercise of any of his duties or powers; (b) without lawful excuse, fails to comply with any order lawfully given under the provisions of this Law or of any regulations made hereunder; (c) without lawful excuse, fails to furnish any information lawfully demanded under the provisions of this Law or of any regulations made hereunder or furnishes information which he knows to be false in a material particular, or does not believe to be true; (d) shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of four hundred naira or to imprisonment for one year, or to both such fine and imprisonment. (2) In any prosecution for an offence against this section, the onus of proving the existence of a lawful excuse shall lie on the person charged.

12. Prosecutions. (1) No prosecution for any offence against this Law or any regulations made hereunder shall be commenced except with the consent of the Honourable Attorney-General of the state. (2) A prosecution for an offence against this Law or any regulations made hereunder shall be brought in the name of the Permanent Secretary and may be conducted by him or by an officer of the Ministry not below the rank of Senior Agricultural Officer, and any prosecution so instituted shall be deemed prime trial to have been consent with due consent.

13. Defence in Civil and Criminal proceeding. Where any proceedings, whether civil or criminal, are brought against any public officer in respect of any act done in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Law or of any regulations made hereunder, it shall be a good defence to show that there was reasonable and probable cause for the act in respect of which such proceedings are brought.

14. Power to sue for fees. Any expenses or fees due under the provisions of this Law or of any regulations made hereunder may be recovered by the Permanent Secretary as a civil debt.