Capitalist Development in Kenya, Re-examined

From The Case of The Contract Farming System in Agribusiness

Abstract

In the past debate on capitalist development in Kenya, the many writers regarded capitalist development in the advanced industrial countries as a model for development. They tended to discuss only the characteristics of the capitalist class in the major industrial sectors, neglecting the significance of the labour force in the agricultural sector. In this study, I attempt to supplement this debate with the following case study.
Mumias Sugar Company (MSC), an agribusiness established in post-independent western Kenya, is based on the contract farming system and can be viewed as a means to integrate small farmers under capital. The following three points have been derived from an analysis of MSC's organizational structure, the relationship between the Kenyan state and foreign capital, and changes within Mumias society.
1) It is a relationship of inter-dependency between MSC and the state, not one of one-sided dependency, that has formed the establishment and the operation of the MSC.
2) The upper strata farmers in this rural society who invest in land as capital accumulation, can be considered as a small capitalist class.
3) The labour force in the middle and lower strata is made up of peasant workers, not self-sufficient peasants or a proletariat (who do not possess the means of production).
In understanding the reality of economic development in post-independent Kenya, these factors can be recognized as being inseparable from capitalist development, rather than as proof of economic dependency.
The example of an agribusiness based on the contract farming system shows the potential for capitalist development in rural areas showing the characteristics noted above.