Ebonyi State Agriculture Law

Agriculture Law [CAР 11] CHAPTER 11 AGRICULTURE LAW Arrangement of Sections Section 1. Short title. 2. Interpretation. 3. Appointment of examiners. 4. Board of Agriculture. 5. Duties of Board of Agriculture. 6. Tenure and vacation of office by unofficial members. 7. Meetings and proceedings of the Board. 8. Commissioner empowered to make regulations. 9. Disease. 10. Right of entry to take samples. 11. Furnishing of information. 12. Offences. 13. Prosecutions. 14. Defence in civil and criminal proceedings. 15. Power to sue for fees. 1 93 94 Agriculture Law [CСАР 11] E.R.N. 40 of 1955. 32 of 1958. L.E.N. Cap. 8, 1963. CHAPTER 11 AGRICULTURE LAW A Law to make provision for regulating the planting and growing ofAgricultural Crops, for the control of plant diseases and pests and formatters connected therewith. (1 April, 1956).Short title. 1. This Law may be cited as the Agriculture Law. Interpretation, 2. Appointment of 3. examiners. In this Law: "Commissioner" means the Commissioner for the time beingcharged with responsibility for agriculture and food."Board" means the Board of agriculture established under section4: "Examiner" means any officer of the Agriculture Division of theMinistry of Agriculture and Food of the rank of agriculturalAssistant and any person appointed as an examiner under theprovisions of this Law or of any regulations made hereunder;"Noxious weed" means any weed harmful to man or beast orinjurious to agricultural or horticultural crops;"Pest" means any insect or other animal injurious to agricultural orhorticultural crops; "Plant" means any plant or parts of a plant such as cuttings,suckers, bulbs, tubers, roots, haulms and fruits; but does notinclude the true seed unless this is expressly stated and does notinclude 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; "Producer" includes any person engaged in the cultivation,collection or preparation of produce; The Civil Service Commission may appoint fit persons to be examiners for the purposes of this Law. 2 6. Agriculture Law [CAP 11] 5. a There shall be established a Board of Agriculture to be composed as follows: A Chairman to be appointed by the Commissioner from amongst persons appearing to him to be qualified as having had experience of agricultural matters; Four Members to be appointed by the Commissioner to represent producers of cash crops; Four Members to be appointed by the Commissioner to represent producers of food crops; The Chief Inspector of Agriculture or his representative; The Principal of the College of Agriculture; The Chief Conservator of Forests or his representative; The Registrar of Co-operative Societies or his representative; The Chief Veterinary Officer or his representative; The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development or his representative; 95 (1) The duties of the Board of Agriculture are to advise the Duties of Board of Commissioner upon: (a) all matters concerning Agriculture; (b) the framing of regulations to be made under this Law; (c) the carrying out of the provisions of this Law or of any regulations made hereunder; (d) any matter concerning the general purposes of this Law; The Commissioner shall consider any advice received from the Board but shall not be bound to accept it. (e) any matter referred to it by the Commissioner. (2) (1) A menber of the Board other than an ex officio member (in this section referred to as an unofficial member) may, at any time, by a resignation under his hand addressed to the Chairman, resign his membership, but, save as aforesaid and subject to the other provisions of this section, an unofficial member shall hold office for three years from the date of his appointment. An unofficial member who has ceased to bea member shall be eligible for reappointment. Agriculture. Tenre and vacation of office by unofficial members. Board of Agriculture. 3 96 Mectings and proceedings of the Board. (3) Agriculture Law [CAР 11] If the Commissioner be satisfied that an unofficial member: (a) has been absent from two consecutive meetings of the Board without the permission of the Board; (b) is incapacitated by physical or mental illness; or (c) is otherwise unable or unfit to discharge the functions of a member, the Commissioner may declare his office as a member of the Board vacant and shall notify the fact in such manner as he thinks fit, and thereupon the office shall become vacant. (4) 7. (1) (2) (3) Where an unofficial member is temporarily incapacitated by illness or is temporarily absent from Ebonyi State of Nigeria, the Commissioner may appoint any person (not being a public officer) to be temporarily a member of the Board during such incapacity or absence. Subject to the provisions of this section, the Board may make standing orders providing for the proper conduct of its business. Meetings of the Board shall be convened by the Chairman with the approval of the Commissioner, but any six members may by notice in writing signed by them request the Chairman to convene a special meeting of the Board for the purposes specified in such notice, and, upon receipt of such notice, the Chairman shall at the earliest convenient date convene a special meeting for such purposes. Where, upon any special occasion, the Board desires to obtain the advice of any person upon any particular matter, the Board may co-opt such person to be a member for such meeting or meetings as may be required; and any such person shall, while so co-opted, have all the rights and privileges of a member of the Board, save that he shall not be entitled to vote on any question. (4) All questions proposed for decision shall be determined by the majority of the votes of the members present and voting. (5) The Chairman shall have an original vote and also, if upon (6) any question the votes are equally divided, a casting vote. At a meeting of the Board six members and the Chairman shall form a quorum. 4 [CAP 11] Agriculture Law [CAPР 11] (7) The Board shall not be disqualified from thetransaction of business by reason only of anyvacancy among its members. The Commissioner may make regulations:(a) rember: of d C 8. (1) the P ard it and ted at of 1 (not (b) he J ny ctf m quest 1 ient ter, cl Ict ind not nd by (2) on n for the control of diseases, pests or weeds, prohibitingtemporarily the growing or cultivation of any plant orcrop during specified periods of the year, prohibitingthe sowing or planting of any kind of plant specifyingany particular kind of seed or plant as the only kindpermitted to be used, or controlling the distribution ofany kind of seed or planting material; for maintaining and improving the quality ofagricultural or horticultural plants, fruit trees or crops,and for purposes incidental to such maintenance orimprovement, including in the event of disease or pestinfestation the destruction and the replacement of anyplant or tree and the destruction of any crop or partthereof; (c) prescribing the measures to be taken for conserving the soil and combating soil erosion including theregulation of bush burning; (d) for prohibiting, restricting, or controlling thedistribution and use of artificial fertilizers and for the marketing of chemical composition or qualitythereof; (e) prescribing penalties for offences against anyregulation made hereunder not exceeding twentythousand Naira or imprisonment for six months orboth as the Commissioner may think fit;(f) specifying charges, expenses or fees to be paid in respect of any matter or act for which provision ismade in any regulation; (g) generally for carrying into effect the provisionsthis Law. of Nothing in this Law shall be construed so as to make itobligatory for the Commissioner to obtain or act on theadvice of the Board before making regulations undersubsection (1). 97 Contnissioner empowered to make regulations. 5 98 9. (1) Right of entry to take samples. 10. Furnishing of information. Disease. 11. Agriculture Law [CAР 11] Agricult (2) Where plants, seeds, soil, containers, straw, and 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 Agriculture Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food not below the rank of Agricultural Officer may order them to be destroyed unless they can be treated to his satisfaction for the removal of the plant disease or pest. Where any plant or crop, 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) (b) an officer of the Agriculture Area of the Ministry of Agriculture not below the rank of Deputy Chief Inspector of Agriculture may make such order as he may deem necessary for the treatment of such plant disease, pest or noxious weed; and upon the failure of the owner of the plants or crops to comply with any such order, any 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. For the purpose of carrying out his duties under this Law or any regulations made hereunder, any examiner shall have power at all times which are reasonable, having regard among other things to the religious beliefs and social customs prevailing in the areas in question, to enter any building or place in which he has reasons to suppose that any fertilizers, plants, crops or parts thereof which are subject to regulations made under this Law are stored or grown and to take samples of such fertilizers or produce. (1), Any officer of the Agriculture Area of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food not below the rank of Assistant (2) 12. 13. Agriculture Law [CAР 11] Agricultural Superintendent 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 anyregulation 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 theGovernor. 12. (1) Any person who: Offences.C10 (a)CUIS hinders or molests any Agricultural Officer, or any 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; (2) 13. (1) (2) 99 (b) (c) without lawful excuse, fails to comply with any order lawfully given under the provisions of this Law or of any regulations made hereunder; and 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, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of forty thousand Naira or to imprisonment for one year or to both such fine and imprisonment. In any prosecution for an offence against this section, the onus of proving existence of a lawful excuse shall lie on the person charged. No grosecution for an offence against this Law or any regulations made hereunder shall be commenced except with the consent of an officer not below the rank of Agricultural Superintendent. A prosecution for an offence against this Law or any regulations made hereunder shall be brought in the name of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Food and may be conducted by an officer of the Agriculture Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food not below the rank of Prosecutions. 100 Agriculture Law [CAР 111 Agriculture Law Defence in civil and criminal oroceedings. 14. Agricultural Superintendent , and any prosecution so ins tituted shall be deemed prima facie to have been commenced with due consent. Where any proceedi ngs, whether civil or cri minal, are brought against any public off icer in respect of any act done in pursuanc e of any of the provis ions of this Law or of any regulatio ns made hereunder, it shall be a good de fence to show tha t there was a reasonable and probable cause for t he act in respect of which such proceedings are brought. Powerto stue for 15. Any expenses or fee s due under the prov isions of this Law or of fees. any regulations made h ereunder may be reco vered by the Chief Inspector of Agriculture as a civil debt. 8 1. These In th "OWI mea 3. She 5 tota Chi Pe 4. In oil P 5 T n C Agriculture Law [CAP 111 CHAPTER 11 AGRICULTURE LAW SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION Bud-Rot Regulations 3. 4. These regulations may be cited as the Bud-Rot Regulations. In these regulations: "owner" in relation to a palm owned by a native communitymeans the head of the community. The owner of an oil palm or coconut palm which is attacked by"bud-rot" shall forthwith cause the palm to be cut down andtocally destroyed by fire, and shall notify the Local GovernmentChaiyman of the same. Penalty: a fine of two thousand Naira. In any area in whish bud-rot is prevalent no person shall tap anyoil palm or coconut palm. Penalty: a fine of two housand Naira. The tapping of oil palms by the process generally known as"cabbage tapping" is prohibited. "Cabbage tapping" is themethod by which wine (sap) is made to exude from the palm bycutting away the plant tissue immediately below the growingpoint or bud. Penalty: a fine of two thousand Naira. Citation 101 102 Citation. Agriculture Law [CАР 11] Swollen Shoot Regulations 1. These regulations may be cited as the Swollen Shoot Regulations. 2. In these regulations: Interpretation. Power to enter cocoa farms. inspect and mark cocoa trees. 3. Power to destroy affected trees. 4. 5. Notice of intentionto mark and treat trees. Powers may be exercised in absence of owner 6. "Chief Inspector" means the Chief Inspector of Agriculture; "Owner" includes any person entitled to reap the fruits of a cocoa tree: "Representative" means any person detailed by the Chie! Inspector, or any person duly authorized by him, to carry out the survey of cocoa trees and control swollen shoot disease for the purpose of these regulations, "Swollen shoot disease" means the virus disease of cocoa commonly known as swollen shoot, with all its recognized forms and variants, The Chief Inspector or his representative may enter and inspect any cocoa farm and may mark any cocoa tree for the purpose of controlling swollen shoot disease. The Chief Inspector or his representative may destroy or otherwise treat any cocoa tree or any other tree or plant, which in his opinion is infected with swollen shoot disease. The Chief Inspector or his representative shall, by public announcement in the neighbourhood not less than twenty-one days before the date of such marking and treating, give notice of intention to mark or treat cocoa trees with such information as to the time and place of the proposed operations as is reasonable for the purpose of affording the owners of the trees an opportunity to be present when their trees are marked or treated Where notice has been given under regulation 5 and the owner or agent fails to attend, the Chief Inspector or his representative may exercise in his absence any of the powers conferred under these regulations. 0