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‘Paying for the Emergency by displacing the settlers’: global coffee and rural restructuring in late colonial Kenya*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2009

David Hyde
David Hyde
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences, University of East London, 4–6 University Way, London E16 2RD, UK E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Global coffee markets entered into a deep cyclical downturn from the mid 1950s. As producers, notably Brazil and Colombia, continued to increase their output, intense struggles arose among global competitors for larger slices of a contracting market. The prospect of an economic catastrophe, following the release of Brazil's surplus stocks, preoccupied Kenya's colonial government, which was dependent on tax revenues derived from coffee sales, and was less able to support the settler-dominated industry in the face of the increased costs incurred by the Mau Mau Emergency after 1952. This left European settlers exposed, with many barely able to recover their costs of production. What began as a counter-insurgency strategy, by allowing an elite of African farmers to grow Arabica coffee (a privilege formerly reserved to settlers) was enlarged and accelerated in response to unrelenting global market pressures. These compelled the colonial government to beckon low-cost African farmers into coffee production, in a bid to save its tax base and ensure the survival of the coffee sector. Even though the Coffee Marketing Board confiscated much of their income, African farmers proved well able to rally family labour and achieve surpluses. Rationalization of production and the re-organization of the commodity chain to maintain high quality at lower cost were decisive in both reconfiguring the economic and social relationships that underpinned Kenya's independence in 1963 and securing the country's place on the world market. The aim here is to explain the crisis, and its grip on Kenya's economy during the transition to independence and beyond.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Global History , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , March 2009 , pp. 81 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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References

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21 Hyde, ‘Plantation struggles’, Appendix 36, p. 304; D. A. Low and Alison Smith, eds., History of East Africa, vol. III, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976, table 10, p. 591. See also Swainson, Nicola, The development of corporate capitalism, London: Heinemann, 1980Google Scholar; Wasserman, Gary, Politics of decolonization: Kenya Europeans and the land issue, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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24 McWilliam, ‘Banking in Kenya’, pp. 18, 24, 33; Van Zwanenberg, An economic history, p. 294. See also Michael McWilliam, ‘The managed economy: agricultural change, development and finance in Kenya, 1945–1963’, in Low and Smith, History of East Africa, vol. III, pp. 251–89.

25 ‘Coffee profit tax system ends’, EAS, 28 March 1958.

26 Ibid.

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28 ‘Kiambu planters tax resolution: discussion at conference’, EAS, 24 June 1958.

29 ‘Coffee Board committee to study new tax’.

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31 David Hyde, ‘East African Railways and Harbours, 1945–60: a crisis of accumulation’, forthcoming.

32 Mario Samper, ‘The historical construction of quality and competitiveness: a preliminary discussion of coffee commodity chains’, in Clarence-Smith and Topik, The global coffee economy, pp. 120–53.

33 ‘Sharp drop in the quality of Kenya coffee’, EAS, 29 November 1957.

34 All references to coffee weights throughout the text are in long tons. 1 bag of coffee weighed, on average, 0.058 tons.

35 Daviron and Ponte, The coffee paradox, p. 86.

36 Bilder, Richard B., ‘The International Coffee Agreement, 1962’, American Journal of International Law, 57, 4, 1963, pp. 888–92CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also Lowenfeld, Andreas F., ‘International commodity controls: some lessons from the coffee agreement’, American Journal of International Law, 61, 3, 1967, pp. 785–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Rubin, Ernest, ‘Questions and answers on coffee statistics’, American Statistician, 22, 3, 1968, pp. 42–3Google Scholar; Irving B. Kravis, ‘International commodity agreements to promote aid and efficiency: the case of coffee’, Canadian Journal of Economics, 1, 2, 1968, pp. 295–317; Kenneth D. Frederick, ‘Production controls under the international coffee agreements: an evaluation of Brazil's programs’, Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, 12, 2, 1970, pp. 255–70; Richard B. Bilder, ‘The International Coffee Agreement: a case history in negotiation’, Law and Contemporary Problems, 28, 2, 1963, pp. 328–91.

37 ‘Move to widen coffee talks: African representation’, EAS, 12 July 1957; ‘Advice on coffee: Kenya's need for wider exchange of views’, EAS, 27 July 1957.

38 ‘Common Market threat to East African coffee’, EAS, 6 May 1958.

39 KNA, ‘East Africa: a market for U.S. products in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda’, a supplement issued by the US Department of Commerce/Bureau of International Commerce.

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41 ‘Drop in coffee prices continues’, EAS, 2 June 1959. More generally, see Blundell, Michael, So rough a wind, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1964.Google Scholar

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43 International Coffee Study Group, International Organization, 14, 2, 1960, pp. 367–8, and 14, 4, 1960, p. 695.

44 ‘Minister reviews colony's farming prospects: warning of severe coffee price drop’, EAS, 13 November 1958.

45 ‘Kenya farms faced with worst crisis since 1930s: cuts in costs essential’, EAS, 28 May 1958.

46 Ibid.

47 Hyde, ‘Plantation struggles’, p. 77.

48 Ibid., Appendix 33: ‘Anatomy of the coffee industry in Thika district giving details of ownership and acreages of estates, tribal and gender composition of the workforce as at August 1st, 1960’, pp. 287–8.

49 ‘Cheaper prices good for coffee in the long run: report on world trade talks’, EAS, 21 November 1958.

50 ‘Concern at slide of coffee prices: effect on Kenya economy’, EAS, 2 December 1958.

51 Ibid.

52 ‘Alarm at coffee proposal: threat to output from East Africa’, EAS, 7 July 1959.

53 ‘Kenya opposes plan to limit coffee exports - assured market for quality goods’, EAS, 25 June 1959.

54 ‘Talks in U.S. on coffee agreement’, EAS, 24 June 1959.

55 ‘Coffee export control’, EAS, 26 August 1959.

56 ‘Stockpiling of coffee threat to world price’, EAS, 2 September 1959.

57 ‘Agreement signed on coffee quotas’, EAS, 26 September 1959.

58 ‘Record coffee crop in Africa likely: U.S. report’, EAS, 30 September 1959.

59 ‘Coffee group to stabilise prices all over Africa’, EAS, 10 December 1960.

60 Ibid.

61 Ibid.

62 ‘Minister on coffee treaty: Kenya would not accept output limit’, EAS, 7 May 1961.

63 Ibid.

64 ‘Coffee auction’, EAS, 10 May 1961.

65 KNA, Kenya Trade and Supplies Bulletin, June 1961.

66 ‘Quality the key to coffee industry survival: need for more research and advice stressed’, EAS, 29 July 1961.

67 ‘£21, 235 aid for coffee research’, EAS, 13 May 1960.

68 ‘Peril in falling coffee prices: treaty's aim being ignored - chairman’, EAS, 21 September 1961.

69 Cited in ‘More coffee price falls likely: talks in U.S. vital to East Africa’, EAS, 14 March 1962.

70 Ibid.

71 ‘London coffee talks clarified issues: policy study made’, EAS, 21 June 1961.

72 ‘Drop in prices would ruin Kenya warns chairman of coffee board’, EAS, 13 April 1962.

73 KNA, AMC 7/20: Verjee Report, November 1962.

74 Hyde, ‘Plantation struggles’.

75 ‘Kenya coffee still the world's best’, EAS, 1 December 1962.

76 ‘5,000 ton target for non-quota markets: Kenya plans to raise exports of coffee’, EAS, 22 November 1962.

77 KNA, AMC 7/20: Verjee Report, November 1962.

78 ‘Coffee auctions’, EAS, 6 February 1963.

79 Verjee Report.

80 ‘New markets lost by increased prices for coffee’, EAS, 28 July 1962.

81 ‘Coffee delays worry trade’, EAS, 1 August 1963.

82 ‘Kenya coffee losing flavour’, EAS, 5 November 1962.

83 Michael Barratt Brown, The economics of imperialism, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974, pp. 208–9; Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin, ‘Global capitalism and the American empire’, in Leo Panitch and Colin Leys, eds., The new imperial challenge, Socialist Register, 2004, p. 16.

84 Panitch and Gindin, ‘Global capitalism’, pp. 13–18.

85 Bilder, ‘The International Coffee Agreement: a case history’, p. 329.

86 Ibid.

87 International Coffee Agreement, 1962; ch. 1, article 1, p. 7.

88 Daviron and Ponte, The coffee paradox, p. 87; see also A. Kumar, Primary commodities: international control of production and trade, Ljubljana: Research Centre for Cooperation with Developing Countries, [1986], p. 165; Bilder, ‘The International Coffee Agreement: a case history’, p. 329.

89 Ibid., p. 340.

90 Daviron and Ponte, The coffee paradox, p. 87.

91 Bilder, ‘The International Coffee Agreement: a case history’, pp. 344–7.

92 Government of Kenya, Development plan, 1966–70, Nairobi: Government Printer, 1966, p. 176.

93 Kumar, Primary commodities, p. 165.

94 Swynnerton, A plan.

95 Heyer et al., Rural development, p. 104; David Wall, ‘Export prospects for Africa south of the Sahara’, African Affairs, 68, 270, 1969, pp. 26–41; Ann Seidman, ‘Prospects for Africa's exports’, Journal of Modern African Studies, 9, 3, 1971, pp. 409–28.

96 ‘Coffee growers form committee to fight cess’, EAS, 12 November 1965.

97 ‘Opposition to cess on coffee’, EAS, 12 January 1965.

98 Ibid.

99 CBK, Kenya Coffee, Bulletin, January 1966.

100 Alan Rufus Waters, ‘Change and evolution in the structure of the Kenya coffee industry’, African Affairs, 71, 283, 1972, pp. 163–75.

101 Government of Kenya, Development plan, 1966–70, p. 1.

102 TNA, CO/544, Department of Agriculture Annual Reports, 1962–8; Hyde, ‘Plantation Struggles in Kenya’, Appendix-36, p. 304.

103 TNA, CO/544, Department of Agriculture Annual Reports, 1966–8.

104 KNA, Department of Agriculture press statement, 4 June 1967; CBK, Kenya Coffee, CBK Monthly Bulletins, November 1966–June 1967. See also Lamb, Peasant politics.

105 CBK, Kenya Coffee, March 1967, p. 92.

106 ‘Kenya coffee crop facing surplus’, EAS, 17 November 1965.

107 For the average rate of profit, see Karl Marx, Capital, vol. 3, Moscow: Progess Publishers, 1971, part 2, ‘Conversion of profit into average profit’, pp. 142–210.

108 Karl Marx, Capital, vol. 1, Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1959, ch. 3, ‘Money, or the circulation of commodities’, pp. 97–144.

109 Bilder, ‘The International Coffee Agreement: a case history’, pp. 328–91.