The Pastoral and Agricultural Industries of Kenya Colony and Protectorate
E. C. Case
Jul 1, 1930
Citations
1
Citations
Journal
Economic Geography
Full text
Semantic Scholar
Key Takeaway Key Takeaway: Kenya's pastoral and agricultural industries are largely influenced by climate, topography, and sea proximity, with maize, wheat, coffee, and sisal being key exports.
Abstract
T NHE Colony and Protectorate of Kenya are very nearly bisected by the equator (Fig. 1), and yet the major activities of the people would scarcely suggest this low-latitude position. The most important native industry is the pasturing of cattle, sheep, and goats, which number at present almost ten million head. Such richness in useful animals is foreign to most equatorial areas. It is in sharp contrast to conditions within the hot humid forests of western equatorial Africa, where one may travel hundreds of miles without seeing a single herd of cattle or flock of sheep or goats except, perhaps at some missionary station, where a few cows may be kept for dairy purposes. The agriculture of Kenya varies greatly from one section to another, both in the kinds of crops grown and in the methods of cultivation. The heart of Kenya, however, is the upland area of the southwest where European settlers are developing modern plantations and ranches on an extensive scale. This area has been brought under cultivation with remarkable rapidity and is today the source of the major exports of the Colony. The most important commercial crops are maize and wheatgrains usually associated with temperate climates; coffee, a product grown most abundantly in subtropical areas; and sisal, a drought-resisting plant which requires long dry periods for the production of highquality fiber The distribution of the various crops of Kenya is closely related to climatic conditions which in turn depend largely upon topography and proximity to the sea (Figs. 2 and 3).