Commoditisation of peasant production and its socio-economic implication: a case study of Njombe district, 1920-1992

This study deals with peasant commodity production in Njombe District between 1920 and 1992. It is intended to examine its mechanisms and impact from a historical analysis in order to help us explain the question of underdevelopment in this district. Various economic policies and methods of implementation used by the colonial and post colonial states in making peasant commodity production a success have also been examined. The study further tries to show that, although both the colonial and post colonial governments boast of having brought about progress and development to Tanganyika through cash crop growing, in actual fact this was just one of the ways through which the Tanzanians were exploited. It was through such enforced cash cropping that the area and its people was effectively made dependant of the metropole. It will also be seen, I hope that, once the people were trapped into cash crop growing for an external market, it became very difficult to get out of it. The net result is further underdevelopment of the producers. The central purpose is to see the kind of development or underdevelopment that was brought about as a result of peasant's involvement in cash crop farming. There is need to identify the socio-economic policies and links introduced by both the colonial and post colonial governments if any realistic measures towards the development of the 'Third World countries are to be effective. It is therefore recommended that in order to solve the problem of underdevelopment in Njombe area and Tanzania as a whole, the study appeals for an elimination of factors of underdevelopment which are inherent in this country. It further appeals for getting rid of the existing exploitative socio-economic relations within the Tanzanian society which are within our control. The dissertation is divided into five chapters: Chapter One is an introductory. It explains the Background of the Problem, Literature Review, Methodology and Delimitation. Chapter Two explains the socio-economic and political development of Njombe societies prior to colonial penetration. Chapter Three examines the penetration of capital and of course colonialism in Tanganyika and Ubena in this case. Chapter Four and Five, attempt an examination on the spread and intensification of socio-economic policies as far as peasant commodity production is concerned in Njombe District during British colonial and post colonial period respectively in Ubena. The chapters (four and five) further attempts to expose and evaluate the socioeconomic effects brought about by various political, legal and economic changes on the Njombe society.