Slash tax on fish feed, government urged
By Henderson Msusa:
The Innovative Fish Farmers Network Trust in Malawi has urged government to consider reducing tax on fish feed imports.
President of the innovation Lucky Penemulungu said this in Dowa District recently.
The prayer comes as most fish famers lament the rising cost of fish feed.
“Reducing taxes for fish feed will increase the production of fish in the country thereby reducing overfishing from Lake Malawi and other major water bodies,” he said.
He further challenged financial institutions such as commercial banks to start empowering fish farmers by, among others things, offering soft loan facilities.
In a separate interview Dowa District Fisheries Officer Manason Msukwa said fish farmers were failing to sustain their businesses due to the rising cost of feed.
“It is a known fact that farmers are accessing the feed at a high cost. The challenge can be addressed by, among other things, reducing the Value Added Tax that farmers pay when importing the feed,” he said.
Meanwhile Treasury spokesperson Williams Banda has asked the farmers to put their requests in writing through the Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources.
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