Today, magical beans have become a symbol of resilience and independence in Africa and the global South, witnessing a new rise in tides from the global South.
Coffee cherry and whip
“I had a farm in Africa at the foot of Nugon Hills. The equator ran 100 miles north through these highlands, and the farm lay at an altitude of over 6,000 feet.”
Danish writer Karen Brixen begins her memoirs from Africa in 1937 with this iconic line.
In the book, Brixen recounted her experiences from 1914 to 1931, during which she was currently managing a coffee farm in Kenya’s UK, East Africa.
Her reflections provide insight into the complexities of colonialism and the personal transformations she has undergone during her time in Africa.
In the late 19th century, driven by profit motives, the power of the West Colonies forced seized land from indigenous communities in East Africa to establish plantations of cash crops such as coffee.
In 1893, French missionaries introduced coffee to Kenya and planted the first bourbon variety seeds from the reunion island near Nairobi. Two years later, in 1895, the British government declared the area a protector of British East Africa, and by 1920 it had become a Kenya colony under British direct colonial rule.
Recognizing the profitability of cash crops, the British colonial government prioritized coffee cultivation. They identified the Central Highlands, characterized by fertile volcanic soils, an altitude of 1,500-2,100 meters and a temperate climate, as being ideal for Arabica coffee farming, leading to the rapid commercialization of coffee cultivation in Kenya.
The land was one of the most important targets of colonial plunder. In 1902, the British colonial government enacted the Crown Land Ordinance, declaring all land within East Africa’s protected territory as crown land under the authority of the British monarch.
The Act allows the sale or lease of a parcel of up to 1,000 acres of land by licensed officials, and the lease was generally set for 99. It is designated as the “White Highlands” in the most fertile areas, particularly in the central highlands of Kenya, and is reserved exclusively for European settlers.
Indigenous communities, particularly the people of Kikuyu and Kalenjin, were forcibly expelled from their ancestor lands and moved to cultivated reserves. Under strict colonial policies and burdensome taxation, many local residents not only lost their land, but were forced to serve as cheap workers on settlers’ farms.
Minah Kiary, curator of the Enzi Museum in Kenya, said that in 1903 there were around 100 in 1903, the number exceeded 80,000 and in 1903, the population of the European population in the area designated “White Highlands,” a curator of the Enzi Museum in Kenya, is about 100.
By 1960, the farms owned by approximately 2,000 European settlers had over 2,000 acres, reflecting the massive land consolidation of colonial European settlers.
In “Out of Africa,” Blixen reflects on the exploitation of local tenant farmers by European landowners.
On her 6,000 acre farm, approximately 1,000 acres were grown by the tenant family. These tenants, whose parents were born and raised on the estate, were indigenous but not ownership of the land.
“The squatters were indigenous people, and they lived on farms with their families where they cultivated small shambas there. In return for this, they had to work for me a certain number of days a year,” she wrote.
During the colonial period, European settlers banned indigenous Kenyans from growing coffee by Kenya themselves, said Karga Macharia, vice-president of the Kenya-based African Fine Coffee Association.
“They were forcibly removed from fertile land and relegated to the labor of settlers’ owned coffee farms under exploitative conditions,” Macharia told Xinhua.
The colonial coffee industry was primarily composed of the export of raw coffee beans to Europe, where processing and sales occurred, bringing the community to minimal economic benefits despite the crops being grown on the land.
Meanwhile, Fairtrade Africa program director Chris Oluoch highlighted the enduring impact of colonialism on Kenya’s coffee industry.
Today, local producers in Kenya are often forced to engage in coffee trade through Western-based multinational companies, he said.
Kenya’s neighbor, Uganda, became British guardian in the late 19th century.
During the colonial period, British authorities actively promoted tea cultivation and encouraged local people to adopt tea as their primary drink.
Meanwhile, Uganda’s coffee production was almost entirely directed towards exports. This export-oriented approach meant that domestic consumption was minimal despite being a major coffee producer.
In Uganda, the heritage of British colonialism continues to influence coffee perceptions. The coffee brand named “kiboko” in Swahili means “bikaba.” This refers to a whip traditionally made from Hippopotamus Hide.
During the colonial period, British supervisors used such whips to carry out labor on coffee farms, leading to a link between forced labour and coffee among Ugandans.
This historical context contributes to Uganda’s perception of coffee as a “white drink.” Many locals have traditionally viewed coffee as a cash crop for export, rather than a drink primarily for local consumption.
Independence and struggle
In the 1950s and 1960s, Africa witnessed a surge in national liberation movements.
On December 12, 1963, Kenya became independent from British colonial rule. However, the colonists’ departure did not dismantle the economic structures they had established.
Introduced as a major cash crop during the colonial era, coffee became a double-edged sword in Kenya’s post-independence economic development.
It generated foreign exchange revenues, but also contributed to food insecurity, rural poverty and entrenched inequality within the agricultural value chain.
In the early days of independence, the Kenyan government continued its colonial economic model, allocating vast land to cultivate cash crops such as coffee and tea.
This focus on export-oriented agriculture, which led to foreign income, alienating food production and reducing the domestic food supply.
Merchants and exporters were profiting, but many farmers remained in poverty. In rural Kenya, protests frequently erupted at the low prices offered for coffee, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction among smallholder farmers.
White and green skyscrapers still stand in the heart of Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE). Founded in 1935, the colonial facility continues to control Kenya’s coffee exports.
“We still rely heavily on international markets, exporting mainly semi-processed coffee beans, and as a result, the majority of our profits are captured by middle-aged and developed countries, leaving only a small portion of our ultimate retail value to farmers.
The majority of Kenyan coffee is exported in semi-processed form through NCE, a system established during colonial rule, adding that the structure limits its impact on Kenyan control and coffee value chain.
“This approach is one of the reasons behind the challenges facing Kenya’s coffee industry today,” he said.
Pricing in the NCE is primarily determined by several international buyers and local intermediaries, with local coffee farmers making little choice other than accepting the prices offered.
The coffee industry’s business model is based on the kind of neocolonialism dominated by a handful of profit-rich multinational coffee merchants, says a commentary on Australia’s The Conversation website.
“Over 80% of coffee in the world comes from 25 million small farmers, with 60% being produced by farmers with less than 5 hectares. Many of them struggle to lead a decent life,” he said.
Coffee farmers in Kenya exemplify this disparity. Coffee cups in specialty cafes in Europe usually cost around US$4, but many Kenyan coffee workers earn up to $2.3 per day.
In Ethiopia, despite the global acclaim and high retail prices of Ethiopian coffee, there is only about 5-10% of the final retail price to Ethiopia.
The majority of the profits are captured by international distributors and brokers. As a result, many Ethiopian coffee farmers earn $500 a year despite working all year round, according to World Bank data.
Meanwhile, in Uganda, the coffee industry resembles the coffee industry in other African countries as it continues to tackle the lasting legacy of the colonial economic structure.
Nelson Tugume, chairman of the Inspire Africa Group, said this deep inequality not only lowers morale for coffee farmers, but also hinders the sustainable development of the African coffee sector.
He sought a more equitable and reasonable allocation of substantial wealth produced by the global coffee trade, and argued that African coffee farmers deserve a significant portion of their profits.
Reissued by Xinhua News Agency