This was one of the main characteristic features of colonial economy. Much as the Europeans openly claimed that the motive for their coming into Africa in general and East Africa in particular was humanitarian but their covert aim was economic exploitation and cash crop growing in plantation farms such as coffee, cotton, cloves, rubber and cocoa was one of the methods used.

In East Africa, in 1902 the crown land ordinance was passed in Kenya. It established the loyalty of setting, granting and leasing of an unoccupied land. It also allowed land to be leased for 99 years at the rent of few cents per acre. This was followed by introduction of series of crops such as the 1903 introduction of cottonseeds in Uganda. By K. Borug, Arabic coffee introduced in Kenya in 1 S99. Sisal in East Africa was first planted at Thika in 1904. In 1904 still, tea growing was introduced in Limuru. Rubber was introduced in Kenya around 1902 and by 1914 it had become one of the leading exports.

All the above crops were planted on large scale by colonial governments in Uganda Cotton, Coffee, Sugar cane and tea plantations were encouraged by the colonialists. Individual Africans were likewise encouraged to produce these crops and sell them to the plantation owners most of whom were Asians and Europeans.

Cloves, sisal and cotton have come to determine the agricultural cash crop income of Tanganyika up to present, coffee, pyrethrum, tea and agricultural cash crop sector while in Uganda, up to 1960s cotton was the leading export of Uganda before it was taken over by coffee production.

FACTORS THAT FAVOURED THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLANTATION AGRICULTURE IN EAST AFRICA

Abundant land: During the colonial era. East Africa was sparsely populated. In some places, the natives were displaced by force as, for example, the Nandi of Kenya were forced out of their land in 1906- The presence of such large tracts of land encouraged the colonialists and their Asian allies to establish plantations cheaply.

 Availability of labourers: The Africans were convinced to work In plantations such as at Kinyara, Kericho tea estates, Mbuga cotton estates in Central Tanganyika, clove farms in Zanzibar and Lugazi sugar estates in Uganda. This was in return for a few cents or even gifts like shoes, clothes and mirrors.

In cases whrc Africans refused to work willingly, force was applied as for instance among the Pogoro people of central Tanganyika who resisted the cotton growing exercise that became a sparking point for Maji-Maji rebellion in 1905-1907.

Presence of enough capital on European side: Indians, British and German colonialists were becoming increasingly industrialised and sufficient supply of excessive profits from the metropolitan governments culminated into plantation Agriculture.

More to this, Indian coolies who had come to work on the railway, saved a lot of money while others had earned money in form of accident compensation on railway constmction all of which provided capital that was used later in cash crop farming.

Construction of Uganda railway: As noted earlier, the railway like construction did not stop at Kisumu but it went as far as interior of East Africa as Namasagali, Soroti, Kasese, Gulu and Pakwach. Therefore, the crops like tea from western Uganda cotton from Busoga or tobacco from West Nile could be easily exported to Europe partly using the trains.

Impact of supportive climate : There were also favourable natural factors like enough and reliable rainfall, moderate temperatures, water bodies for irrigation, sufficient sunshine and fertile soils. Such factors which are common in East Africa encouraged naturally the development of plantation agriculture.

The settlers Advent influence: The arrival of settlers in East Africa like Lord Delamare, K. Borup, Sir Hasketh Bell and many others especially in Kenya Highlands became the main plantation owners. Even the Indian coolies who remained in East Africa after the railway became the leading plantation farmers.

Introduction of taxation system in East Africa: The colonial governments introduced heavy taxes in East Africa. In the Buganda agreement of 1900, for example, hut tax and gun tax were introduced. These taxes forced people to go and work even on low pay in the plantations. Likewise, the fear of tax defaulting punishments, made people to go and work in plantation farms so as to get money.

The general monetization of the East African economy: Before coloniasation, the East Africans relied on barter trade or subsistence farming. But with the introduction of Money economy, everything required the use of money which made Africans to offer manual labour or grow side cash crops to sell to Asians and Europeans.

Desire of Europeans to employ African slaves in their own homes. Following the industrial revolution and the invention of machines, slaves became useless and there in Europe and America slaves were repatriated to Africa such as Creoles in Liberia and Sierra Leone while the would be slaves from Africa to Europe were actively involved in plantation farming work,

THE EFFECTS OF CASH-CROP INTRODUCTION IN EAST AFRICA.

On set, one should note that this was one of the avenues of convert colonial economic exploitation and the effects were largely favourable to the colonisers and negative to Africans.

Land alienation: This was done for the establishment of the white owned plantation farms for example in Kenya highlands miles of land were reserved for exclusive white settlement and their farms as Africans were pushed away.

To reserve the camps, the 1904 British Masai agreement was signed which pushed the Masai to arid areas, the 1900 Buganda agreement that divided Buganada land into mailo and Crown lands, the Chagga were pushed to the top ofMt. Kilimanjaro leaving the fertile plains for Arabic coffee by the whites.

The introduction of import-export trade economy; Through this system, East Africans were made to consume what they didn't produce and produce what they didn't consume. That is; the specialisation of labour and division of skills where European goods were consumed by Africans and East African Agricultural products were taken as raw materials to European industries.

The greatest disadvantage with this was that whites had had a monopoly hand of fixing the prices for both East African imports and exports thus leaving the East Africans exploited price wise.

Exploitation of labour: Labour exploitation was in different related forms in European farms. This labour would be on white owned plantation farms secured at a free cost or cheaply paid involving flogging at times at any sign of resistance sometimes labour exploitation would be faced indirectly on African cash crop small farms where they toiled to produce cash crops that were paid to little.

On Africans, this forced labour had series of negative effects such as: there was unequal exchange (labour exploitation), migrant labour and its dangers (prostitution, divorce etc) and at times it resulted into rebellions for example Nyangire rebellion in Kigezi, Maji-Maji and Mau-Mau resistance.

Decline of food production: The over emphasis by colonialists on the growing of cash crop policy, resulted into scarcity of food and later famine. As for example forced cotton growing scheme in southern Tanganyika led to famine that resulted into Maji-Maji uprising, forceful introduction of coffee growing in Buganda hence the origin of the name "Kiboko" meaning a whip. This greatly reduced food production in Buganda.

Taxation: This aimed at conditioning the natives to develop a forceful need for money so as to work in white plantation farms to raise the required taxes, from their miserable wages. Other than this, the natives were expected to sell their own individual cash crops and pay the proceeds to the government in form of taxes. Examples of the common taxes included: Hut tax, gun tax, hunting tax, brewing tax poll tax and others.

Monetisation of the economy: This was the convenient means of buying the cash crops. This replaced the barter system of trade that existed in East Africa before the coming of colonialists. This system was also helpful in Taxation system. Moreover, for effective exploitation of East Africa, the metropolitan economies had to be integrated with those of East Africa and this could be easily done by introduction of the monetary Economy.

Development of modern transport: For efficient and effective exploitation, of Cash crops, the British, German, French, Belgium and Portuguese colonisers deemed it fit to construct roads, railways and ports. A railway line was cheap ^nd convenient means of transporting bulky raw materials to the coast and distribute European products in the interior of East Africa. For example the Uganda railway meant to tap coffee, cotton and copper from Uganda, the Usambara railway line tapping Coffee from Kilimanjaro.

Influx of whites: White flocked East Africa to have a fortune from producing cash crops, the Boers who had been defeated by the British in the second Anglo-Boer left their destroyed farms and preferred to start afresh in the Kenya Highlands where they established the gigantic plantations. The construction of Uganda railway further accelerated the influx of whites in the interior as the means of communication have been improved through Mombasa and Kilwa port where Tanzam Railway starts.

Emergency of scientific research: Agricultural research stations were put in place to promote the high breeds in agriculture and curtail the possibility of reduction in output as a result of diseases and poor agronomic practices. Thus in Tanganyika they established a maximum Biological and scientific research institute which undertook the study of physical sciences in animals and plant diseases at Dodoma in 1911.

Lord Delamere pioneered research of the wheat rust diseases and successfully combated it leading to the establishment of "Unga Flour mill" in Nairobi, the first flour factory in Kenya.

Establishment of processing industries: These were meant to reduce the weight of the bulky cash crop raw materials, for easy transportation and shipment to the metropolitan countries thus cotton ginneries, coffee whalers, sisal processing among others. were put in place. These industries also provided some of form of employment.

Plantation agriculture encouraged the migrant labour: People moved from different parts of East Africa to go and offer their labour in the plantations such as the one of Tea and Sugarcane. Some workers could only earn what was enough to cater for themselves. They could stay outside their homes for years with no assistance to their families. This case in Uganda was common where the northern tribes and Bakiga-Banyankole came to work in cotton and coffee plantations among the Baganda for a living.

Population patterns in East Africa became revolutionised: For example, in Kenya, places like Kericho, Thika and Lidoret became more thickly populated because people moved there in order to benefit cither directly or indirectly from the plantation farms. Likewise, in Uganda, areas surrounding Lugazi Sugar factory were affected, Kakonde tea growers in Mityana, Mwere Tea estates in Mubende all attracted labourers from different regions of Uganda who finally settled there permanently.

Urbanisation impact: This was another effect of plantation agriculture. There was massive growth of towns as more people moved to stay near plantation schemes. As for example in Kenya, Kericho, Thika, Limuri, in Uganda Lugazi, Mityana and Kinyara all developed into important towns.

Advancement of infrastructural facilities: In addition to railway lines as seen earlier, there was development of Telephone lines, schools such as Kakira S.S, Kericho agricultural reascarch institute among others built to cater for the children of plantation employees. Likewise, hospitals, dispensaries and markets grew up in the vicinity of the plantation farms.

In conclusion therefore, the plantation agriculture in East Africa in particular and Africa in general, was the main characteristic feature of covert colonial economy centered on growing of cash crops with a lot of positive benefits to Europeans and negative effects to Africans although in the field of infrastructure Africans benefited accidentally.