Kenya

For many people, Kenya is synonymous with wildlife and safaris. The country has been visited for centuries, first by the Portugese, then Arab traders who plied their trade up and down the eastern coast of Africa, and now by the hundreds of thousands of tourists who come to experience a taste of true African wilderness.

Kenya, like Uganda, straddles the equator. It is bordered to the north by Sudan and Ethiopia, to the east by Somalia and the Indian Ocean, to the south by Tanzania, and to the west by Lake Victoria and Uganda.

Kenya’s array of wildlife is dazzling, and all of the ‘big five’ (lion, buffalo, elephant, leopard and rhino) can be seen in at least two of the major national parks. The Rift Valley, especially around the Lake Turkana area, has yielded hominid skulls, one of which is estimated to be around 21/2 million years old.

Historically, the Arabs controlled much of the East African coast until the arrival of the British in the latter part of the 19th Century. White settlement in the early 20th Century saw the development of agriculture and the establishment of coffee plantations. Coffee was introduced to Kenya by the missionaries around 1893 at Kibwezi and Bura and currently coffee is grown in 32 Counties in Kenya.

Kenya achieved independence from the colonial administration in 1963. The current population of Kenya as per the 2019 census stood at around 46.7 million. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, employing around 80% of the population and contributing to 50% of the country’s exports (led by coffee and tea).

The principal food crops include beans, maize, rice, Irish potatoes, sorghum,
cassava, and assorted fruits and vegetables. Kenya’s largest export earners
are tea, coffee, apparel and horticultural products.

Volume (2018/19 in thousand 60kg bags): 750

Growing areas: Mt Kenya, Aberdares, Mt Elgon, Western Highlands,
Machakos and Taita Taveta