Colonial legacies and contemporary commercial farming outcomes: sugarcane in Eastern Uganda

Abstract

This article explores the impact of nineteenth-century colonial activities of cash crop farming which altered existing forms of land use from subsistence to capitalist commercial farming. Such modifications had long-term implications for postcolonial development paths by producing and reproducing structures that skew the benefits of commercial farming towards the capitalist agenda at the expense of the welfare of the local population. The article builds on the debates over colonial legacies of agrarian transformation using commercial sugarcane farming in eastern Uganda. Using youth surveys, qualitative tools and document reviews, the authors argue that the detrimental effects of sugarcane farming are a recurrence of capitalism rooted in colonial imperialist policies in Uganda. Through its processes of accumulation by dispossession, colonial-era capitalist systems continue to operate through land seizure for sugarcane farming at the expense of food crops, precipitating food insecurity. It has also pushed the indigenous population into a very vulnerable situation, offering poorly remunerated and extremely exploitative jobs in sugarcane farming. The authors argue that the broader historical context of colonialism is relevant in explaining the contemporary dynamics associated with activities such as commercial farming in postcolonial societies.

Keywords:

• colonialism
• capitalism
• sugarcane farming
• poverty
• food insecurity

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Swati Parashar for inspiring us.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and Makerere University under SIDA contribution No: 51180060.

Notes on contributors

Kassim Mwanika

Kassim Mwanika is a Lecturer in the Department of Development Studies of Gulu University. He is a graduate of development studies from Gulu University, and has an MA in rural development from Makerere University, and a MSc in international development and humanitarian emergencies from the LSE. He is currently in his final year of doctoral studies at Makerere and the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden.

Andrew Ellias State

Andrew Ellias State is an Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the School of Social Sciences at Makerere University. He is the Dean of the School of Social Sciences, and his scholarly work focusses on social movements, social networks and rural livelihoods.

Peter Atekyereza

Peter Atekyereza is a Professor of Sociology, Lecturer and current Head of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the School of Social Sciences at Makerere University. His scholarly work focuses on structure and functioning of African Family health, vulnerabilities and livelihoods.

Torun Österberg

Torun Osterberg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Her scholarly work is ranges from social work, economics to social welfare, vulnerability income index and international migration.