§ 34. Mr. Turtonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the acreage of European farms in Kenya; what is the acreage of land farmed by Africans; and what is the proportion of foodstuffs produced from European farms in Kenya.
§ Mr. George HallAs the answer is rather long and contains a number of figures I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ The acreage of land alienated to European farmers approximates to 7,000,000. As regards Africans the approximate acreage of land occupied by agricultural tribes is 18 million acres, and by pastoral tribes 13 million acres. This does not include the Northern Frontier Province.
1989§ As regards the last part of the Question, a high proportion of the African crops is consumed by the growers themselves and their families and a proportion of food grown on European farms also is consumed on the farms. In these circumstances, it is not possible to say what proportion of foodstuffs is produced by either community, but statistics are available of their contribution to the East African Cereals Pool, namely:
§ 1945/1946 crops (a bag=200 lbs.).
§ Maize:
- European grown—470,000 bags.
- African grown—605,000 bags.
§ Wheat:
- European grown—184,000 bags.
- African grown—nil.
§ Rice: About 2,500 tons.
§ (Two crops a year are harvested in the Reserve lands as against one on European farming areas.)