Agricultural Transformation among the Abaluhya of Busia, Kenya: Colonial Impact and Economic Adaptations, 1918-1939

Abstract

This paper presents the agricultural transformation among the Abaluhya of Busia, Kenya, during the interwar period from 1918 to 1939, a crucial era marked by significant colonial intervention and global economic shifts. Before British colonial rule, the Abaluhya had developed a self-sustaining and efficient agricultural system based on their deep understanding of the local environment. However, following World War I, the colonial administration intensified efforts to integrate local agriculture into the capitalist economy, driven by the need to finance colonial operations and exploit Kenya’s agricultural potential. The period 1918-1939 saw the imposition of taxation, the promotion of commodity crops such as maize, and the expansion of wage labor, all aimed at restructuring indigenous agricultural practices. This paper, with information from research that utilized archival sources, oral interviews, and existing literature, demonstrates that while colonial policies disrupted traditional systems, the Abaluhya agricultural organization adapted to coexist with the colonial capitalist economy. The paper highlights how colonial policies impacted the Abaluhya agricultural practices leading to significant shifts/changes during the interwar period. At the same time it is noted that export crop production enabled some farmers to accumulate wealth, yet also contributed to the marginalization of indigenous practices. Despite these pressures, the paper concludes that traditional agriculture was not eradicated; rather, it persisted and evolved in response to the changing economic landscape of the interwar period.