Proceedings of the South & East African combined agricultural, cotton, entomological and mycological conference held at Nairobi, August, 1926

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1738588467

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-115043

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Proceedings of the South & East African combined agricultural, cotton, entomological and mycological conference held at Nairobi, August, 1926

Place of publication:: Nairobi

Publisher:: East African Standard

Year of publication:: 1926

Scope:: VI, 337 Seiten; Ill.

Digitisation:: 2020

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Part II. Agriculture

Collection:: Economics Books

7 PART IT. We may say we have a population of two and a half million natives. Of this two and a half millions, half a million are computed to be men of working age, but on account of disabilities we cannot expect more than 870,000 will be available. Of this number one half or 185,000 is given as a maximum figure available to-day at one time for work in the Colony. It is obvious whatever else we may do that we should endeavour to fill up the empty spaces in our reserves with people, that we should educate them in hygiene, in the production of foodstuffs in those agricultural arts which are required when the pressure of population becomes too great for a pastoral system to support. In former times we saw the great treks made by people who wished to get away from restraint. To-day the native areas being delimited, escape cannot be made in this way so that the human being has to accommodate himself and his system. Now why should we develop field husbandry? Agriculturists are, generally speaking, a fixed population. They are easier therefore to administer. The products of field husbandry may be marketed in the raw state or by a simple industrial process such as ginning; they may be rendered more suitable for transport and for marketing. The capital required to produce one shilling’s worth of surplus produce from field husbandry is but a tithe of that required to produce the same surplus from animal husbandry. Field husbandry, properly managed, results in a surplus of foodstuffs, fixed abode, civilisation for the mass. With field husbandry enough animal husbandry may be carried on to supply the wants of the farmers and that without very much interference with their agricultural activities. In Kenya especially field husbandry was encouraged because the machinery for marketing was ready to hand. The marketing of the products of animal husbandry, save of the skins and hides, requires special equip- ment because the material is very perishable. The speed of development of field husbandry is great. of animal husbandry slow. Tar Neeps oF THE NATIVE AricuLTurist: These may best be revealed by describing what he lacks. The seed of the crops he grows is lacking in vitality, it is impure in that it does not breed true and it is generally a mixture. He is addicted to the growing of crops like grasses producing a starchy small seed resembling bird seed. He lacks a variety of crops of some sustaining power; there are many food crops but he balances his ration rather badly. He lacks the fundamental knowledge of how to prepare land, his agricultural work generally being very slipshod. The European is wrongly accused of having become possessed of the best land in Kenya. He knows how to use land in comparison with the native who possesses as good or even better land in many parts yet fails to secure the acre yields the European can grow, and it is this difference in the use of land which has blinded observers The native lacks a sufficiently great incentive for him to amend his methods and to produce a large surplus. Wants being few and the varied produce of the land so bounteous together with the ever open door of work outside the reserves makes him but a casual producer, lacking in energy. 74

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