Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

This paper summarises briefly same of the principle features of agricultural development in small farm areas of Kenya since the 1920s, in an attempt to increase understanding of current inequalities between different areas by adding a historical dimension. A primary goal of the paper is to suggest a fruitful area for further research by indicating how such investigations can contribute to an understanding of the current situation. They paper puts particular emphasis on the role and activities of the Agricultural Department, the reports of which provided the most important source of material. It uses differences in the growth of marketed output from different parts of Kenya as the primary indicator of differences in development because this is the only indicator on which detailed information is readily available. The paper shows how close the marketed output of Nyanza and Central Provinces was until the mid-1950s, and how fast Central Province drew ahead after that. It also shows how concentrated the benefits of the coffee boom of the 1960s were, and how similar the more recent expansion of pyrethrum, tea and dairying appears to be in this respect. This paper highlights the more readily available information. Further work would certainly enhance our understanding of the processes through which the inequalities develop as well as predicting likely future patterns and suggesting means of broadening the development process.