Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why it is proposed to give advances to the coffee industry in Kenya; why the promised aid to develop African grown coffee has not been forthcoming; and why Africans are still actively discouraged from growing it.
§ Colonel StanleyAdvances have been sanctioned to assist the estates to finance proper maintenance after two successive seasons of very short crops, so as to prevent progressive deterioration which would jeopardise the survival of the industry. Encouragement has been given to the cultivation of coffee by Africans in suitable areas under Government supervision, but since 1941 the urgent requirements of fool production have precluded the opening of further areas for this purpose. The development of a native industry along co-operative lines, and the possibility of wider opportunities for Africans to grow coffee in suitable areas, are under consideration.