Chapter 10
In: Agricultural Intensification, Environmental Conservation, Conflict and Co-Existence at Lake Naivasha, Kenya
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Abstract
Since the early 2000s the production of export crops (vegetables, summer flowers) on small-scale farms practising rainfed agriculture has rapidly spread across the Kinangop plateau (Nyandarua County, Kenya). While previous research has given insights into the formation of the Naivasha horticultural hub, little attention has been paid so far to the development of export-crop production in Kinangop. Despite being in the direct vicinity of Naivasha – Kenya’s main horticultural hub – the functional links between these two production centres are tenuous. This paper helps to explain the significant differences between these two agricultural regions by presenting a geohistory of Kinangop and by exploring, based on field data, the ways in which this area has been connected to global trade flows. We describe the agrarian system that has been shaped by political decisions in the second half of the 20th century. We demonstrate that the production of export crops in this area is part of a broader strategy developed by small-scale farmers to diversify and maximise income sources in a context of increased scarcity of land resources. Despite many production and marketing constraints imposed by external and more powerful actors, small-scale farmers manage to develop tactics to get the most of contract farming and exploit the flaws of this system.