British policy and unequal development in rural Tanganyika, 1920–1961

Since the mid-2000s, debates on the economic and social legacies of colonial rule in sub-Saharan Africa have seen a revival, including on questions of agricultural change, welfare, inequality, and the role of colonial policy. Existing research has largely focused on wealthier peasant-export colonies and on settler colonies. The dynamics of poorer peasant colonies remain less understood. This paper examines Tanganyika, a British mandate territory from 1920 to 1961, where colonial administrations officially prioritised peasant development and the expansion of African agriculture. Drawing on a newly constructed dataset on African agricultural production at national and provincial levels, the paper analyses trends in cash crop production and food security, situating quantitative evidence within an analysis of colonial policy and African cultivators’ agency. The findings show substantial growth in African agricultural production, particularly after World War II, driven primarily by African farmers responding to market opportunities, rather than by colonial intervention. However, agricultural development was highly uneven, regional inequalities widened, and food shortages remained recurrent. Limited market access, paternalistic, regulatory policies, and the colonial administration’s failure to secure African cooperation are identified as major constraints on cash crop expansion and food security.