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GEOG 323: Regional Geography of Africa with Special reference to East Africa
Agriculture Development in East Africa

Types / Characteristics of Agriculture: There are several ways of classifying agricultural activities but
generally African agriculture is classified as traditional /subsistence and commercial.
Traditional System: Some of the characteristics are as follows:
Widespread (operate in all agro-ecological zones) and most people in rural areas are involved
(peasant farmers)
Produce mainly for home consumption (limited commercial and semi-commercial)
Operate in family systems (planning, decision making and implementation)
Av. Farm size is 2.5ha (less than 1ha in high population density areas and about 10ha in sparsely
populated semi-arid areas).
Low level technology and heavy reliance on natural conditions (less than 4% of land area under
irrigation)
Crops grown include Maize: most widely grown cereal with higher yield per hectare than other
crops, Millet & Sorghum: important traditional staples, drought resistant; Rice: Grown mostly
under irrigation and of great local importance (second after maize in Tanzania); Cassava: widely
grown and potatoes, wheat, beans, vegetables
Commercial Farming / Cash Crop Farming
A variety of commercial crops are grown on plantations and smallholder farms. These include
Cotton, Coffee, Tea, Sisal, Cashew, Pyrethrum and horticulture produce.
Mainly European-owned plantations but small-scale and medium-scale farmers are also involved
Plantations are often large scale , commercial oriented and use hired labour,
Use of improved technology, usually monoculture and organised on estate basis.
Some Key Cash Crops
Tea: Grown mainly in the rift valley region. Kenya is Africas leading producer and the fourth in the
world. Tea exports were valued at $404m in 2001. Black Tea is the leading Foreign exchange earner.
260,000 small-scale farmers produce under the Kenya Tea Development Authority. Tea is Tanzanias
fifth largest export crop after cashew, coffee, cotton, tobacco). Smallholders account for over 30% and
directly engages 50,000 families. It is equally important in Uganda with about 60,000 farmers involved.
Coffee: Important in all Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
o Arabica (heavy rainfall areas and cooler temperatures highland regions, 1,555 -
2,000m)
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o Robusta (higher yields but lower prices, popular in Uganda and Western shores of
Tanzania, 1,100-1,400m)
o Coffee is Kenyas third foreign exchange earner and produced by many small scale
farmers and few large estates. It is also marketed through the Coffee Board of Kenya
Cotton: Popular and widespread among small scale farmers especially in North of L. Victoria in Uganda
and South of it in Tanzania. In Tanzanias second most important export crop , providing employment to
about 5,000,000 households.
Cashew: Important in Tanzania and Kenya. Over 250 small farmers in Tanzania are involved.
Sisal. Found in semi arid regions of Tanzania and Kenya. Large scale sisal plantations are generally on
decline
Pyrethrum: Kenya is the worlds largest producer and exporter (also in Tanzania). It has great prospects
due to its organic and natural pesticides
Horticultural - Flowers, vegetables & fruits: Fast growing and important sub-sector in Kenya and
Tanzania. Floriculture (cut flowers and ornamental plants) is Kenyas fourth largest industry, after tea,
coffee and tourism. Flower farming is one of the most developed sector and accounts for 40 percent of
all horticultural exports About 15 large producers account for 60% of production. Flowers are grown
mostly around lake Nakuru, Limuru, Kiambu and Eldoret; Mt. Kenya. Vegetable mostly exported include
fresh french beans, peas, broccoli and baby carrots. Fruits include avocadoes and mangoes
Factors promoting the growth of horticultural sector include: favourable climatic conditions, good
investment policies (attracted British and Dutch investors), ready market, attractive world prices and the
use of improved technology.

Urban Agriculture
Flourished in recent times with increased urbanisation but mainly household level initiated as a coping
mechanism against hardship and poverty. It involves raising of vegetables, food crops, milk, broilers
meat and eggs. The challenge is that there is risk of unsafe water use.

Livestock
Very important in the arid and semi arid regions usually among indigenous tribes (Massai, Turkana,
Karamanjong). Pastoral nomadism: Irregular movement with their herds (cattle, sheep and goats, and
camel in very dry areas) Transhumance: Regular movement. In both cases they move from one place to
the other depending on the availability of pasture and water.
Commercial livestock: Introduced by the Europeans but there has been state involvement after
independence e.g. National Ranching Company, Tanzania. Kenya exports meat to UAE and hide to
Germany, UK, Netherlands and Italy
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But over 90% of red meat (cattle, goats, & sheep) consumed locally are in the hands of subsistence
farmers and pastoralists. Because of the combination of herding and cultivation, the purely nomadic
herder does not exist in East Africa.
Kenya exports meat to UAE and hide to Germany, UK, Netherlands and Italy. Livestock production is
concentrated in Central and Rift Valley. Smallholder intensive and medium-scale holders account for
80% of dairy cattle. They are engaged in both stall feeding with food & cash crops besides - mixed
farming
Dairy production has received interventions from: Governments, private sector and NGOs - to boast
output through exotic breeds, cooling and processing plants, marketing etc.
Poultry has developed to satisfy urban demand for eggs and broiler chicken. Poultry is now important
around major towns. In Uganda it is mainly in the southern half of the country (Kampala, Jinja, Mbarara).
In Tanzania, its around Dar-es-Salaam and other major urban centres. Also significant in rural highland
regions of Arusha and Kilmanjaro, and Kagera in the Southern highlands

Fishing
The coastal areas in the region around the island of Zanzibar are important fishing areas. Despite their
long coastline of about 950 km, Kenya and Tanzania derive only a small par of their fish catch from the
sea.
Lakes and riverine system have a wide variety of fish species. They supply over 90% of fish catch in the
region (focus more on freshwater fishing)
Freshwater fishing is important: Lakes and riverine system have a wide variety of fish species and
supply over 90% of fish catch in the region. L. Victoria is the most productive of fresh water with species
like tilapa, haplochromis and bagrus. Lake Tanganyika is important for Dagaa, with a peculiar character
of rising to the surface of the water only at night.
Aquaculture: Relatively new enterprise in the region; carried out at the subsistence level. It has a great
potential in view of large number of natural waters and its being promoted to reduce pressure on wild
stocks.

Importance of Agriculture
Most of the countries are agriculture based and accounts for 75% of labour force. Smallholder farmers
account for 75% of agricultural output. Agric. remains the main contributor to GDP (Salami et al. 2010)
e.g. Uganda30%, Kenya34%, Tanzania43% and Ethiopia 47%. But recently growth is low due to
rapid development of the services sector - taking over agriculture in certain countries e.g. Uganda,
Kenya. Thus agric. remains insufficient to adequately address poverty, attain food security and lead to
sustained GDP growth)
Challenges of Agriculture
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Inspite of the numerous benefits, the agricultural sector face numerous challenges as ff:
Limited access to credit-due to collateral
Inadequate input supply - fertilizers pesticides and improved seeds due to rising input prices
Limited use of improved technologies storage facilities,
Limited market access poor road and rail system (transportation networks)
Inadequate access to land & land tenure uncertainties - led to insecurity, underinvestment and
small plots
Land degradation Loss of potential production capacity of land in terms of loss of soil fertility,
soil biodiversity due to population increase, poor soil management, deforestation and
overgrazing.
Climate change: Drought has increased in the past 30 years, increasing water shortage &
inefficient use of water resources. Ugandas most lucrative tea producing areas could be
completely wiped off by an expected rise of 2.5C by 2050 (Colombia-based International Centre
for Tropical Agriculture CIAT, 2011)

NB: Assignment
Provide suggestions on how to address these challenges.



References
Salami, A; Kamara, A. B. and Brixiova, Z. 2010. Smallholder agriculture in East Africa: Trends,
Constraints and Opportunities. African Development Bank, working paper series. No. 105. April
2010 .
http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/WORKING%20105%20%
20PDF%20d.pdf
Samuel Aryeetey Attoh (Ed.) 2010. Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa. Prentice Hall, New Jersey,
USA.