PART II. ;
were sent back to their native villages to work as real agriculturists
under Government control. Various agricultural schools existed in
the country, and in some parts agricultural shows were organised.
In every district agricultural officers in charge included native
instruction in their programme of work; under their advice and control
native model gardens were made, oxen were trained, mechanical
culture taught, selected seed distributed, adequate rotation of crops
planted, and encouragement given for the distribution of interesting
varieties of various food erops.
It might be said that some natives already quite realised the
advantages of more advanced agricultural methods, and in some parts
of the Congo (Uele, Maniema, Sankuru, ete.) a fair amount of export
produce was already grown. In addition, it must be understood that
economical conditions in a colony like the Belgian Congo were quite
different from those in other countries of East Africa, where mining
industries did not exist. In the Belgian Congo those industries (gold,
copper, diamonds, ete.) required a great amount of labour, and the
Agricultural Department in the Belgian Congo aimed, in the first
place, at producing food for these mining labourers. Produce for
export was, nevertheless, becoming very important, especially in
respect of cotton.
Mr. KIRBY referred to the Kilimanjaro Native Planters’ Coffee
Association, a society that had made considerable progress. The
natives concerned were the Wachagga, who were a progressive
agricultural tribe. The Society, as far as possible, managed its own
affairs with the sympathetic assistance of the Department of
Agriculture and the Administration. There was a small fee for
membership. The Society had drawn up rules, and its chief object
was to form a public opinion among natives which would foster good
coffee production and preparation. It also graded and exported the
coffee of its members for sale in London. The Society had no legal
powers; it would, however, be able to report cases where preparation
or cultivation were unsatisfactory, and legal action would then be
taken, if required, by the Department of Agriculture. The Society
was young, but popular, and it was, as far as could be seen at present,
likely to do very useful work. That was, so far, the only kind of
native agricultural co-operation which existed in Tanganyika Territory.
Mr. WORTLEY thought it very desirable that a resolution should
be passed urging on the various Governments that as far as possible,
education in the different territories should be given a strong
agricultural bias.
* Mr. MILLIGAN said that the subject of agricultural education
was brought up before the Agricultural Department in India about 20
years ago: it was rather pressed upon the Department because the
educated community in India were themselves anxious to see the
peasantry placed on a satisfactory footing. The Agricultural Depart-
ment, wisely, he thought, had been very chary of approaching the
subject and had practically refused to touch it until they had had
some experience of the country. They found that there was no real
demand on the part of the agricultural poulation for education
generaily. It was feared by the peasantry that their sons if educated
would leave the land and join the clerk class in the town. The best
thing appeared to be to gain the confidence of the agriculturists
emselves in the first place and create a demand for aoricultural
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