The Headline / Petition Target

To: His Excellency Dr. William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya

Copy To: CS Hassan Joho, Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs

Sponsored by: The Cage Fish Farmers Association of Kenya

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Why this matters right now

Kenya faces an acute 365,000-tonne fish supply deficit. Yet, a devastating new regulatory hurdle threatens to kill the very sector working to feed our nation.

Under the Fisheries Management and Development (Aquaculture) Regulations 2024, the government has enforced a punitive 5% ad valorem levy on all landed fish alongside an exorbitant Ksh 50,000 annual licensing fee.

This is not a tax on profits; it is a tax on gross output. It forces local farmers to pay the government before they even recover the cost of their fish feed, wages, or bank loans. If allowed to stand, this levy will drive 1.2 million livelihoods into ruin and hand our markets back to cheap, imported Chinese tilapia.

[ ✍️ SIGN THIS PETITION TO REPEAL THE FISH LEVY ]

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The Core Problem: A Clear Injustice

While other critical agricultural sectors in Kenya receive government bailouts and direct support, our aquaculture sector is being targeted with selective, discriminatory taxation.

• The Double Standard: Sectors like tea, coffee, sugarcane, and dairy have recently enjoyed billions in debt write-offs, direct subsidies, and guaranteed minimum returns. Livestock herds graze public lands for zero production tax. Meanwhile, cage fish farmers receive zero subsidies, pay multiple environmental (NEMA) and water permits, and are now slapped with a crushing 5% landing tax.
• Reversing Economic Progress: Domestic aquaculture successfully cut Kenya's fish import bill by 44% in recent years. This levy forces local fish prices up by an estimated 10% to 15% at retail markets, making locally produced fish more expensive than untaxed, imported foreign fish.
• The Broken Promise: In February 2025, the Ministry of Blue Economy signed a Joint Communiqué agreeing to replace this flat fee with a fair, tiered framework that exempted micro-producers. That signed agreement has been completely ignored.

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What We Are Requesting (Our 3 Demands)

We call upon H.E. President William Ruto to protect the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and urgently direct the Ministry of Blue Economy to:

1. Immediately Repeal the 5% Ad Valorem Levy on landed fish to save small-scale cage operators from immediate insolvency.
2. Gazette the Agreed 2025 Amendments, enforcing a tiered, area-based license fee structure that entirely exempts micro-producers operating below 30 tonnes.
3. Form a Technical Working Group with aquaculture stakeholders to build an equitable, growth-oriented regulatory framework.

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How You Can Help

1. Sign the Petition: Add your name to demand horizontal equity and fairness for Kenya's food producers. [You can download the full petition from here Petition_to_President_Ruto_2026 copy]
2. Share Widely: Send this link to your networks, local Beach Management Units (BMUs), and social media platforms using #SaveKenyanFish Farmers.
3. Visit Your Nearest Beach Management Unit (BMU) and sign the petition: Clicks alone will not change the law. If you are an aquaculture worker, trader, or farmer along the lake basin, access our physical signature format from your nearest Beach Management Unit (BMU) to gather verified National ID signatures for our formal submission to the Clerk of the National Assembly.