ABSTRACT
In 1959, the Colonial Government of Kenya set up a Working Party to recommend suitable measures to promote the development of smallholder tea cultivation in the country. Tea was a relatively new agricultural crop in Kenya, having been introduced in the country only in the 1920s. 1 British tea companies, which had made their fortunes in India and Ceylon, were responsible for the commercial development of tea in Kenya and the rest of East Africa. In India, tea cultivation on a commercial basis had begun in the early part of the 19th century. Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and 3ava (Indonesia) had also tea estates by the late 19th century. Compared to these South Asian countries, Kenya had relatively limited experience in tea growing and tea trade.
