Cowpeas and dolichos: The crops colonialists overlooked

Cowpeas and Dolichos lablab (njahi among the Kikuyu) are native to Africa. They were domesticated alongside millet and sorghum in the Sahel, northeastern Africa and other parts of the continent around 10,000 years ago. Cushitic, Bantu and Nilotic people migrated and settled in Kenya with peas as part of their cuisine.

The common bean (Phasolus vulgaris) was domesticated over 7,000 years ago in South America and brought by the Portuguese to the Kenyan Coast in the 16th century. The diffusion of beans westwards into the interior was facilitated by the Swahili-Arab slave and ivory trade.

Before British rule was established in 1895, therefore, peas and beans were already cultivars among many communities in Kenya.

They were highly valued for their high protein content and were eaten with ugali and potatoes. In addition, many communities used peas and beans during rituals such as circumcision, marriage negotiations and divination.

Further, they were fed to women before and after they delivered babies. Among the Kikuyu, for instance, njahi was associated with women’s fertility and the social reproduction of the community.

But these indigenous varieties of peas and beans would be supplanted by exotic ones during the colonial and postcolonial eras.

During the colonial period, European and Asian immigrants introduced new varieties, which they preferred. These were imported from Europe, Asia, Latin America, the United States, Canada, and other parts of Africa, particularly South Africa and Madagascar.

They included Canadian wonder, Rose coco, California butter beans, Boston beans, Scarlet runner, Small red Mexican beans, White haricots, the Painted lady and Madagascar butter. Peas included pigeon peas, Victoria peas, French peas and other types from India.

These exotic varieties were first grown on a small scale by European settlers, missionaries and Indians. Later, from the late 1920s, they were tried in the Department of Agriculture’s experimental seed farms in the country.

The trials were aimed at determining each crop’s ability to grow, the period it took to mature for harvest and its resistance to pests and diseases.

EXTENDED PRODUCTION

The seeds, paid for by funds from the Department of Agriculture and the Local Native Councils, were then distributed to African farmers. The smallholder farmers were required not only to grow them for domestic consumption but also for export.

Among the many varieties of beans and peas, only a few were adopted by Africans through their own initiative.

These included pigeon peas among the Kamba, Luo and Luhya, and the Boston and Michigan peas elsewhere.

Marrowfat peas were reported to suit the climate in Kisii. As for beans, Rose coco and Canadian wonder were grown in central Kenya and Nyanza.

Tepary beans were successful in the dry areas of the Coast. The Painted lady was cultivated in a few places, including Machakos.

The State’s insistence that the new varieties be pushed for export led to their expanded production in subsequent years. But this was not without problems.

First, although the Department of Agriculture encouraged the growing of various varieties for different districts to avoid flooding the market with one type, this objective was not easily met.

African farmers, who often secured seeds through relatives and other acquaintances, mixed three to four varieties of beans including the indigenous ones, in single or adjoining fields.

Due to this practice, mixed rather than pure varieties of beans were harvested and taken to the market for sale. Whereas African consumers in the villages did not mind mixed beans, European residents and canning firms in Kenya and overseas exclusively preferred pure beans of specific varieties.

The colonial State tried to encourage the selection and sale of high-quality pure exotic beans through the Inspection Rules, the Grading of Beans Rules of 1931 and Marketing of Native Crops and Produce Ordinance of 1935.

These pieces of legislation led to increased production. As measures to control quality, they were met with limited success as they were difficult to enforce.

In the early 1930s, very few bags were presented for grading for the export market. Most farmers were not ready to select and pack pure beans as this entailed much extra labour, which was not adequately rewarded. Only 50 cents extra was paid for the effort.

BELOW OFFICIAL PRICES

During the depression, local and international demand declined, until 1935. This led to very low prices for beans. It was not until 1937 that the price of beans increased to Sh9.50 for a 200-pound bag in Kisumu, up from only Sh4 during the early 1930s. Prices in Nyeri and Kiambu varied with a negligible margin. The improved price lasted only up to 1939.

The outbreak of the war in 1939 led to a sharp decline in bean production in Nyanza and central Kenya. Maize, groundnuts, potatoes and millet were more sought after in Europe as they fetched higher prices than beans and peas.

And many farmers planted them instead. The other problem was that some bean varieties did not do as well as anticipated due to inappropriate climatic and soil conditions and the fact that people did not plant seeds on time.

Beans were also prone to attacks by beetles, blight and rust. Limited funds greatly minimised the Department of Agriculture’s extension work in African Reserves.

Although the government also considered the possibility of establishing a reconditioning plant to dry harvested beans to secure them from insect attack and rot in stores, this was not implemented.

Further, the marketing of beans and peas was not properly organised. These produce was bought from growers by men and mostly women who sold to Indian shopkeepers.

The latter paid far below official prices. Few Africans managed to sell in established urban markets, where it was quite difficult to secure a stall.

Instead, the majority of women traders sold cooked maize that was mixed with beans or peas (githeri) to male artisans and workers in the informal commercial sector and in slums in Kenya’s growing urban centres. By 1963, colonial neglect and an asymmetric market system relegated peas and beans to the periphery of the economy.

The problems that face beans and peas today already existed by the end of the colonial period. Today, as in the past, they include high levels of poverty among small-scale growers, little or no use of fertilisers, poor access to improved varieties due to high seed prices, poor inspection services and a market structure that favours rich middlemen, supermarkets and multinational firms.

Prof Ndege teaches at Moi University; [email protected]