To aid in the administration of this part, there is created an advisory board to be known as the Georgia Tobacco Advisory Board and to be composed of 12 members. Three members are to be members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House, and two members are to be members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate. The members of the General Assembly shall be appointed from those members who are tobacco producers or, in the absence of such producers in the General Assembly, such members may be appointed from the members of the General Assembly who represent the flue-cured leaf tobacco producing counties and districts of this state. One member shall be the Commissioner of Agriculture, ex officio, or his representative, who shall be chairman of the board. One member shall be the president of the Georgia Farm Bureau Federation, or his representative. One member shall be a member of the Georgia Flue-Cured Tobacco Warehousemen's Association to be appointed by the president of that association. Four members shall be flue-cured leaf tobacco farmers to be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture. The Commissioner in selecting the four tobacco farmer members shall strive to give the board geographical balance so that all flue-cured leaf tobacco producing areas of the state will be represented on the board. All members of the board shall be bona fide residents of the State of Georgia. The appointive members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing officer. The members of the General Assembly shall receive the per diem and expense allowance provided for committee work of the General Assembly, and such sums shall be paid from the funds appropriated for the operation of the General Assembly. The other appointive members of the board shall be compensated in the amount of $15.00 per day for each day in attendance of the duties of the board and shall be reimbursed for the necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties from the funds of the Department of Agriculture. The Commissioner shall be reimbursed for his expenses incurred in the performance of his duties. The members of the board shall not receive the per diem provided in this Code section for more than seven days per year.