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

PART II. 
and to an individual. Thus a successful native agriculturist is ever 
tending to become a pastoralist, just as a successful business man 
ultimately is found to possess investments in the ** funds’ and to 
have an income and a reserve apart from his business. We know that 
this method of investment of surplus wealth ultimately would destroy 
agricultural work were it not for the fact that disease periodically 
reduces the numbers of cattle, permitting the over-grazed land to rest 
and agriculture again to flourish. 
The tenure of land in native reserves is of such a nature as to 
restrict development in one sense, whilst in another to assist it. 
Generally speaking a man is able to find land on which to work but, 
within limits, any appearance of extensive agricultural work results 
in the man’s activities being curtailed. With old men who appear to 
have control of much land the incentive to produce a considerable 
surplus is not great and land which may be utilised for agricultural 
work is frequently held up by owners for their pleasure or their 
livestock. 
Thus we have large numbers of people inhabiting our so-called 
agricultural reserves, viz.: Kikuyu and Nyanza, settled, many of 
them, on most excellent agricultural land, provided in both cases 
with railway facilities, served to some extent by traders, and peaceably 
inclined. In parts the pressure of population is very great and for 
various reasons the surplus population is not able to spread out over 
equally good land in the possession of another tribe or sub-tribe. In 
addition to the slowly educative forces exerted by traders and 
administrative officers, numbers of these people, men mainly, go out 
to work in areas in which European production has reached a high 
standard or they work in the transport, building, or household 
services. This ought to speed up the adoption of western methods 
and ideas. 
Kenya has for its main businesses agriculture and transport. 
There is no mining and practically no industrialism. It is the business 
of Kenya to move not only its own products, but also those of Uganda 
and some of those of Tanganyika. The business houses operating in 
these Territories are mainly conducted from Kenya. A number of 
native people are engaged in clerical employment and as porters in 
towns where large stocks are kept and broken down for distribution. 
A large income accrues to Kenya from these transport operations. It 
should be noted that Kenya Estates and Corporations operating within 
the borders of Kenya may not recruit labour in Tanganyika, nor are 
many labourers recruited in Uganda for service in Kenya. 
Tt is not possible then to give an estimate of the drain on Kenya's 
labour resources to maintain the traffic of East Africa. The number 
of labourers required for a fair development of European areas in 
Kenya 1s calculated as follows: Of the five million acres alienated, it 
1s computed that not more than one and a half millions may come 
under the plough. Of the areas which on present information may be 
alienated in the future less than 10 per cent. will be cultivable. 
Therefore one may take the acreage of 1,500,000 as a fair agricultural 
development in European areas. To work this area we shall need 
250,000 daily labourers. Here one assumes the progress of every 
type of farming, coffee, sisal, maize, ete., i 
For transport, household, pastoral and Government work we shall 
require a further 150,000 people so that we will need 400,000 men for 
work in the Colony. 
Fred 
Td
	        
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