The Swynnerton Plan Of 1954

Land reforms in Kenya began during the colonial period as a result of a report on how to
Intensify the Development of African Agriculture in Kenya prepared in 1954 by the then Deputy
Director of Agriculture, R.J.M Swynnerton.
The plan was supposed to address African land problems by reforming land tenure, consolidating
fragmented land holdings, issuing freehold title, intensifying and developing African agriculture,
providing access to credit, and removing restrictions of growing of cash crops for export.
It consisted of a three-phase program: (1) land adjudication to phase out customary tenure; (2)
land consolidation into block per household to eliminate small, dispersed parcels, to allow
greater specialization, and to realize economies of scale in cash crop production; and (3) land
registration to offer security of tenure/ownership and to establish a land market.
In summary, the Swynnerton plan aimed to displace indigenous land tenure system and impose
private property rights along the lines of English land law. The plan thus sought to re-configure
the context of land rights by imposing alien laws in property land rights. This had severe
consequences not only to the existing tenure regime but also for the organization of the society in
general. The following are some of the key recommendations of the plan.
Recommendations
i.
ii.

That, all high quality native land be surveyed and enclosed

That, all the thousands of fragmented holdings be consolidated and enclosed. The
progressive farmers would thereby be allowed credit, which previously they had been
denied, and that the new title deeds issued to act as security of tenure which would lead to
investments and rural developments.

iii.
iv.

That, the policy of maintaining traditional or tribal land holding systems be reversed
That, native African farmers be allowed to grow cash crops, be given a major boost in
technical assistance and obtain access to all marketing facilities, which initially were a
reserve of the white settler minority.

NB-: You may continue with list of recommendations at will but the above are
the core recommendations as documented in various authentic sources