The focus on the present government in the area of agriculture and the clamour by every analyst and social pundit for a diversification of the Nigerian economy has led many to rue the opportunities open for the country where agriculture becomes our main stay. For one, there is bound to be growth in the integrated farm mechanization, green irrigation systems and agrochemicals industries. And following this, a need for skilled and specially trained experts in these fields.
Laws of agriculture generally refers to laws pertaining to agricultural infrastructure, seed, fertilizer, pesticide, land use, environmental issues and food production. It will further cover areas such as agricultural finance, and marketing, agricultural insurance, farming rights, and other aspects of the agricultural processing and rural industries. As technology develops and processes emerge, it has extended to intellectual property and most recently issues of agricultural engineering, biotechnology, and hydrology as they become increasingly prevalent.
In recent times, the industry has seen major multinational players who have prior to this time adopted a passive role in the Nigerian industry, take a more active role by establishing registered companies and home offices in Nigeria. The likes of Bayer and Seedco International have taken this steps and there is bound to be mergers and acquisitions of players in this industry as the industry grows. Lawyers will have to equip themselves with vast knowledge in agribusiness to establish their relevance in these areas.
With respect to the agrochemical industry in Nigeria, the industry has witnessed rapid growth in recent years but the laws have not kept pace with the growth in the industry. For instance, the main regulations are the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA). The Standard Organisation of Nigeria equally has a major role to play in the industry to ensure that the products coming into the country are standardised. However, issues abound as to the regulation of active ingredients and chemical substances which have come under heavy fire in other developed jurisdictions. Recently, the WHO was called to action by coalition of groups who are urging the World Health Organization to swiftly set new safety standards for the world’s most widely used herbicide – glyphosate, after a WHO cancer-evaluating arm recently classified it as a probable human carcinogen.
Early last year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a research arm of the WHO, classified the herbicides and pesticides - glyphosate, malathion and diazinon as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
In North America, the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) recently announced the plan for pesticide re-evaluation decisions of some 65 active ingredients or groups of AIS and special reviews of 28 active ingredients from April 2015 to March 2020.
Meanwhile, these substances are being imported in the country daily and it behooves that we conduct our own independent examination to know the impact of these chemicals. It therefore becomes imperative that there is an agency primarily tasked with the monitoring and supervision of agrochemicals with research also.
Noting the industry growth and potential in China, the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture (ICAMA) was established in 1963 as an institution affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and specializes in nationwide pesticide registration and administration with the main responsibilities for registration, quality control, bioassay and residue monitoring of pesticides, supervision of pesticide market. With the attention on agriculture, these are areas where the importance of lawyers are needed to drive the proper regulation of the industry and ensure that the industry is attuned with global best practice.