NASS bill seeks 1% duty on agric export for research/extension fund

RT. Hon. Yakubu Dogara

*Companies with over 100million and above to pay

The clause four (IV) of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) “repealed and re-enacted 2016 consolidated bill has demanded establishment of the Agricultural Development and Expansion Fund.

By this establishment, fund will be generated through 1% duty deduction collection on agricultural imports and exports, and a levy of 1% of the profit before tax of a certain identified companies that have a turnover of N100million and above.

The bill which was at the instance of the House Committee on Colleges of Agriculture is expected to tackle prolong challenges in the research development and extension services whereby available technologies are well transferred to grassroots farmers across the country for more accelerated production through the new agricultural policy of reducing foods import and encouragement of export.
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However, three bills were read to the first of its kind crowd which included- amendment to the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act, -bill for an Act to establish the Universities of Veterinary Teaching Hospital and a bill for an Act to establish Nigerian Agricultural Associations.

In his speech at the public hearing, the House Committee Chairman, Hon. Linus Okorie was very optimistic of the positive effects the passage of the bills would impact on agricultural development saying that Nigeria was endowed with food security potentials and ability to create more jobs and foreign earning thereby creating wealth.  

Hon. Okorie noted that Nigeria has been unable to feed herself talk less of being able to translate the sector into wealth and job creations  for the citizenry as a result of decades of misplaced priority and primitive farming practices that have failed to respond proactively to knowledge and technological developments. 

He said that the ARCN amendment bill is meant to reform ARCN by making it more functional, proactive and adaptive, adding that the establishment of agricultural development and extension fund In section 8 of the bill has made provision for some independent funding through one percent of the duties collected on all agricultural imports and exports and a levy of one percent of the profit before tax of certain identified companies that have a turnover of N100 million and above. The 1% of the 100million naira will be remitted into the account of the ARCN while the remaining 99% will be remitted into the national account.

The Committee chairman who was magnanimous of double taxation whoever  said that those who are indirectly making profit through support services to agriculture would be made to pay 1% of their profits to the development of the sector saying “those that are not directly doing agriculture, but who are  deriving from agriculture for instance telecommunication, every business including agriculture intervention fund through telecom services, they are making money out of agriculture, why can they not contribute out of their profits to fund agriculture especially research which is the foundation to drive the growth of the entire sector? Banking: all agric intervention loans are given through banks ,  so some profits of the bank should go to agriculture research funding, talk of any sector , go to conglomerate,  all take out of agriculture, so  let 1% of the profit before tax of all companies that have been identified in schedule 3, dealing directly or indirectly with agriculture or through agriculture will now be taxable as the bill also seeks to empower Nigeria Customs Service and Federal Inland Revenue Service to collect and remit the duty, levy and tax directly to the Council. However, we cannot double tax these companies’’.

He stated further that the bill would as well empower the research institutes and colleges to spring up companies by entering   into public private partnership and to hold intellectual property rights over their learning and research products, register their content and hold the right to local and foreign investors, adding “we also believe that if the bill is passed it will form a robust system, to bring in more investors. “

Some of the stakeholders who spoke in favor of the bills include, Prof. Ambrose Voh, the Acting Executive Secretary, ARCN who said in the bid to achieve Federal Government’s diversification programmes the passage of the bill would be of great advantages.

He called for a change in the operations within the sector, canvassed on the need for minimal administrative and bureaucratic interference in the day-to-day running of the research institutes and colleges by Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and for financial autonomy. 
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He added that if the activity of the research council is centralized it will negatively disrupt affairs of the agencies under the council as they all have different objectives and mandates. He also urged that government meet up with the speedy need of the research institutes and colleges as regards funding, which he describes as a major issue that has been dragging back the country as regards effective commercialization of research.