The purpose of this research project is to study the economic and social implications of smallholder agriculture in Kenya. The shift of smallholders from subsistence farming to cash crop farming created significant changes in the standards of living, social security, reproduction, and the sexual division of labor. With the strong social impact of commercial farming, many Kenyans are wondering whether they are materially better or worse off than they were thirty five years ago

Bavikatte \u2795, Ramya

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Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate ResearchVolume 1 | Issue 1 Article 91996The Modern Day Gikuyun FarmerRamya Bavikatte '95Illinois Wesleyan UniversityThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Ames Library, the Andrew W. Mellon Center for Curricular and FacultyDevelopment, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President. It has been accepted for inclusion in Digital Commons @ IWU bythe faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@iwu.edu.©Copyright is owned by the author of this document.Recommended CitationBavikatte '95, Ramya (1996) "The Modern Day Gikuyun Farmer," Res Publica - Journal ofUndergraduate Research: Vol. 1Available at: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/respublica/vol1/iss1/9The Modern Day Gikuyun FarmerAbstractThe purpose of this research project is to study the economic and social implications of smallholderagriculture in Kenya. The shift of smallholders from subsistence farming to cash crop farming createdsignificant changes in the standards of living, social security, reproduction, and the sexual division of labor.With the strong social impact of commercial farming, many Kenyans are wondering whether they arematerially better or worse off than they were thirty five years ago.KeywordsKenya, AfricaThis article is available in Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/respublica/vol1/iss1/9Res PublicaRamya BavikatteThe Modern Day Gikuyun FarmerThe following are excerpts from a research project uruiertaken byRamya Bavikatte on her Washington Semester at AmericanUniversity. Ramya traveled with her class to Kenya. where shelearned more about the issues of smallholder agriculture and theGikuyun farmer.59The purpose of this research project is to study the economic and socialimplications of smallholder agriculture in Kenya. The shift of smallholdersfrom subsistence farming to cash crop farming created significant changesin the standards of living, social security, reproduction, and the sexual divisionof labor. With the strong social impact of commerical farming, many Kenyansare wondering whether they are materially better or worse off than they werethirty five years ago.One of the most evident ways in which corrunerical agriculture affectsthe Kenyan people is through ecological and land degradation. Due to theever-increasing pressures put on the land, frequent aridity has led to greaterrisk of a bad harvest or even famine. Food relief to Kenya has become morecommon, therefore elevating the dependency on donor countries.Since a well-organized system of providing social security does not existin Kenya, the best assurance of economic security comes through theownership of land. In addition to the land security, commercial agricultureprovides an inlet for added security through market extensions. Marketextensions aid farmers and their fmiIies by providing loan and investmentservices. Unfortunately, the population boom in Kenya, as everywhere inAfrica, means less land and agricultural opportunities; consequently, theincreased rural density has forced people to seek work in the cities. Althoughthe city dwellers have more control over their work conditions, they are byno means financially stable since the work will inevitably be in the informalsector. All the needs of the city dwellers must be met by cash payments, ofwhich they rarely have enough. Perhaps commercial agriculture is not entirelyto blame for the population boom. It could be considered, however, .. as acatalyst for industrialization.Industrialization coupled with commerical agriculture will exacerbatesocial tensions already in existence among the Kenyan people. Any shifttowards higher productivity or income growth in the population as a wholemust increase the range of wealth differences. Unfortunately, the economic60gap between the North and South grows as wealth continues to transfer ofthe North's sector.The Natural Environment of the Gikuyu FarmerGikuyuland makes up a large portion of the great East African plateau.Characteristically, this land includes a great series of ridges and valleys whichsweep from the northwest to the southeast. The altitude of Gikuyu countryvaries greatly, from 4,000 feet to 8,000 feet. The Tuthu settlement is locatedon the slopes of the Aberdare range with an elevation of 8,000 feet. Waterand the irrigation of crops are not a problems here since it rains frequently.There are two rainy seasons: the Long rains occur from March to June, andthe Short rains occur from mid-October to December. The prevailing typeof soil is very fertile red earth which is derived from volcanic ash. It has afine-grained texture which enables the soil to be light to work, and yet holdsmoisture.The Gikuyu family, called a nyumba in Gikuyu, consists of a man, hiswife or wives and their children. The family and family life is consideredthe core entity of the Gikuyu society. When the children grow up, the sonsremain to split up their father's land for their homesteads; the daughters jointheir husbands. A sub-clan, or mbari, consists of an extended family with acommon male ancestry. "All the mbari traced their ancestry to the originalten clans, mihiriga, which are anmed after the legendary ten daughters ofGikuyu and Mumbi, the ancestors of the Gikuyu people" (Geoffrey MuriukiThe Kikuyu in Kenya, 1994).Before colonialism, men traditionally farmed and were in charge of thedistribution and profit of their products. The women's farming job, however,was more domestic in nature as it concentrated on keeping kitchen gardensfor home consumption and being occasionally involved in small-scalemarketing. Colonialism, however, opened up new opportunities forcommercial agriculture and wage labor, both of which were monopolized bythe men. These "new opportunities" available through cash crop agriculture,have decreased the economic power and social status of women. Fortunately,women are starting to regain some of their lost economic power bymonopolizing the secondary and tertiary sectors of the home market. This ismost notable with the many women cooperatives now popular in Kenya, aswell as in other African countries. The ownership of land is so vital that it isregarded as a religious entity instead of an economic asset. In the past, aman could never marry if he was without a piece of land with a house andgarden for his wife. Gikuyun women are considered very strong and essentialtribe members. For instance, a married woman is regarded with high respectin the community. There still exists a clear division of labor between theRes Publica 61sexes, however. Men dominate the jobs of cash crop cultivation and market,while the women cultivate crops meant for domestic consumption.Personal Interviews and Anecdotal EvidenceThe findings in this portion of the project were collected throughinterviews with Mr. Charles Kamau. Mr. Kamau, with his wife and tenchildren, reside on a one-acre piece of land near the southern ride of theAberdare forest. Both Mr. Kamau and his wife are teachers at the localprimary school; Mr. Kamau grows and sells tea for added income. 111eir twodaughters and eight sons have all received secondary education. Three ofthe elder sons are now married and have established themselves in some ofthe larger towns.According to Mr. Kamau, the average small scale tea grower has oneacre or land with 3,500 tea bushes growing on the plot. A farmer and hisfamily pick the tea with the help of hired pickers. Hired pickers are paid perday, approximately 50 shillings, or by the kilo. After picking, the tea istaken to a collecting center where the tea is weighted and recorded. It isthen processed at the factory, where it is graded (A or B) for consumption.The processed tea, is now ready for export to the United States and England.The Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA), the tea industry'smarket institution headquartered in Nairobi, oversees tea collection,processing and distribution. The KTDA is responsible for the payment oftea harvests by the large and smallholders.In accordance with market fluctuations on the price of tea, the farmerwill receive a bank slip at the end of December to pay for his Novemberharvest of tea. Rarely will a farmer receive the exact market value for the teaharvested. "Cess" is a tax that is deducted from the farmers paycheck. Thismoney is taken out to pay for the maintenance of KTDA operations. TheCess tax goes towards paying for the transportation of the tea to the collectioncenter and factory. The County Council Cess, is another tax which is imposedupon farmers to pay for the county tea board within the respective district.The board is comprised of elected members representing every location withinthe district The tea council meets three times a year to discuss and solveproblems that may arise. The C.C.c. tax amounts to a 1% deduction.Fortunately, farmers have the opportunity to invest money into the KTDAby purchasing factory shares. The advice slip shows the amount deducted topay for factory shares, if the farmer chooses to buy them. The dividend amountis the payment the farmer receives for the ownership of factory shares. Thefarmers receive this payment on an annual basis.The KTDA also provides extra services to aid farmers in their productionand financial security. The Fert CL is a payment taken out on a monthlybasis to pay for fertilizer, which the farmers purchase at a subsidized price.62The SACO CL is an organization of which tl1e farmers can buy shares. Thisorganization provides loans for school fees, hospital fees, developmentpurposes or emergencies. If a farmer takes a loan through SACO, the moneyis paid back through an extra deduction from the advice slip. The amount istaken out in negotiated installments with interest at 1% compounded annually.Ths second payment is a bonus that is paid at the end of the yeardepending on the interest of what has been sold through the KTDA for thepast year. During the visit to Tuthu, many farmers were on strike due to thelow second payment they had received for this year. Last year, the secondpayment was paid at 15 shillings per kilo; this year the amount was down bytwo-thirds to 5.45 shilling per kilo. Upon receiving the advice slip, the farmertakes the slip to a bank where he has an account. The total payment, as listedon the advice slip, is paid to the farmer. The slip is then clipped at the comersand stamped on the bank to signify paid on said check A farmer gets onemore benefit The farmer, after showing his KTDA registered number, isable to buy both A and B grades of tea at a price much lower than the retailcost.

The Modern Day Gikuyun Farmer

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