The Political Economy of Sugar Production in Colonial Kenya: The Asian Initiative in Central Nyanza

(Hardback)

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This book describes the Asian agency in sugar production in colonial Nyanza and additionally examines the Asian initiative and the development of commercial cane farming in Central Nyanza. It provides a different perspective on the Asian initiative in agriculture by showing how Asians were involved in sugarcane farming and how production of sugar in colonial Nyanza was eventually made possible by Asian capital. This study relies mainly on primary sources, secondary sources, and oral interviews. The archival sources were derived from the Kenya National Archives. The primary materials included annual reports of the Department of Agriculture, District annual reports, Provincial reports, monthly intelligence reports, colonial officials correspondence, and correspondence from East Africa India National Congress. Oral interviews were also conducted to verify some information while the secondary sources were used to supplement the sources. This work is unique first due to its extensive use of archival sources, as most of these archival sources have not been used by other scholars in the field. Secondly, it deals with all parts of the sugar production process; it shows the connection to the current sugar situation in Kenya and also provides a framework in which to understand the persistent insufficiency in Kenyas sugar industry. This work provides an important contribution to Kenyan economic history.

Reviews

Godriver Wanga-Odhiambo has written the definitive history of the Asian farmers involved in the sugar industry in the Kibos-Muhoroni locations of Central Nyanza, a district in colonial Kenya. . . This book is authoritative, comprehensive, and scrupulously documented. * American Historical Review *
This well researched and richly detailed book is the first to examine the history of sugar production in colonial western Kenya. This analysis makes significant contributions to knowledge with regard to sugar growing and refining in Kenya, which are subjects of much contemporary importance and controversy. -- Robert Maxon, West Virginia University
Godriver Wanga-Odhiambo traces the role of Asians in the establishment of the sugar industry in Kenya and effectively evaluates the dynamics of sugarcane farming and sugar production in colonial Kenya. The book is rich in historical detail, extensive in statistical data, and rigorous in critical analysis. It is highly recommended for anyone interested in issues of agrarian development in a colonial setting and the implications of the same for the political economy of the post-colony. -- Wanjala S. Nasongo, Rhodes College
Godriver Wanga-Odhiambos book offers an erudite analysis of a political economy of sugar production in a racialized Kenyan colonial economic system that favored European commercial interests. Wanga-Odhiambo illuminates the organized political struggles and perseverance of Asian entrepreneurs in defiance of European settler colonial economic injustice in Central Nyanza. She provides a compelling interpretation of the ways in which European settler colonialism adversely affected Asian engagement in Central Nyanza sugar production. Wanga-Odhiambos robust analysis and interpretation of archival documents richly captures the racial dimensions of the political economy of sugar production in Central Nyanza. This pioneering and articulate work is an important resource for both scholars and students seeking a deeper understanding of the foundation of early sugar production in Central Nyanza, Colonial Kenya. -- Onek Adyanga, Millersville University

Author Bio

Godriver Wanga-Odhiambo is assistant professor of African history at LeMoyne College.