Cattle and Soil: Soil Erosion Discourse and Native Administration in Colonial Kenya

During the 1930s, British colonial authorities changed their attitudes towards agrarian production in Africa. Soil conservation became a fundamental issue in the strategies that emerged for African development during this period. The devastation of soil seen in the Dust Bowl of the American Midwest during the 1930s impressed the scientists and administrators of British colonies, including the Kenya Colony. This paper aims to study the formation of the soil erosion discourse, especially its influence on the native administration of Kenya, by examining mainly some research papers submitted by government committees. The concept of soil erosion that might threaten the future of the whole colony allowed colonial scientists and administrators to take a particular form of intervention into the affair of native African people. I point out that it is a fruitful approach to study the continuity of the colonial rule before and after the Second World War to follow the historical transformation in the formation of the soil erosion discourse within the native administration policy