The economic activities in pre-colonial Africa

After a through look into different agricultural practices that existed in Africa, it is equally paramount to know the contributions of technology to the development of agriculture in Africa.

The increased use of iron tools amongst the different societies of Africa, led to the increase of land for cultivation, which resulted into increased agricultural productivity. The food storage skills insured an insurance against loss of future crops through natural disasters such as drought or flood thus food supply throughout the year. Some communities whose soils easily exhausted developed the use of manure which renewed the land and thus increased production. The development and use of irrigation opened up the once un-cultivatable to be productive for agriculture once again.

Not only did the technological improvement contribute to the development of agriculture but also the environment had the great bearing on the development of agriculture in Africa.

The reliable rainfall supplemented with the fertile soils in given areas resulted in the development of permanent crop agriculture or cultivation accompanied with increased agricultural production

Pest free and disease free areas were suitable for both crop and animal husbandry, as they would attract settlement. Also in place is the availability of iron technology in given societies making it possible for the making of iron tools which advanced on the methods of production and thus increased productivity.

It ensured man with reliable food supplies, The impacts of agricultural development are immeasurable as it ensured man with reliable food supplies, permanent settlement, labour specialization and surplus production and thus increase in population.

Farming was not suitable in every environment, the disadvantage of settled farming may also have been apparent through farming could support a larger population; it left the people more exposed to the dangers of famine caused by natural disasters such as drought and floods.

Successful agriculture depended on the ecology or natural fertility of the soil, adequate rainfall, technical skills of the famers and the ability to find most suitable and successful crops. However, this was not a simple task as it required patience and the ability to learn more from experience. It was the trial and error system.

This involved the growing of perennial crops as potatoes, bananas, yam, beans and maize on a permanent basis. This was majorly employed in areas where there was extra land. Not every society could practice this form of agriculture but the environment dictated the terms.

Areas that received heavy and reliable rainfall were free from pests and diseases, having fertile soil did serve best for permanent crop cultivation. With the development of iron technology societies which practiced this moved from communalism to feudalism. In East Africa it was majorly practiced in the interlacustrine regions such as Buganda, Kagera Kenyan highlands, Ankole around Mount Kilimanjaro, parts of Kigoma and rungwe. In West Africa in the Fante, Yoruba, Ashanti, Ife and Akwam.

With the development of permanent crop cultivation people begn to live in larger, more permanent settlement, the permanence of settlement quickened the development of instrument production, there were increase in population as a result of improved diet, food supply became more regular and abundant, brought important social as well as technical changes many developed into centralised states for example Fante, Benin, Oyo and Meroe.

Lastly was the development of handcrafts industries such as iron smelting and social differentiation.

This is an agricultural system which involves growing of crops and rearing of animals on the same piece of land. It evolved in areas which supported both pastoralism and crop cultivation. Crops grown in this agricultural practice included cereals such as millet, sorghum, cassava and maize animals kept included cattle, goats, sheep, cows and donkey.

The mixed farmers existed because the areas they lived had unreliable rainfall and their soils could easily be exhausted so one thing had to supplement the other. Mixed farmers in East Africa included the Gogo, Sangu, Sukuma, Kurya and Fipa in Tanzania, Luyia in Southwest Kenya, the Basoga and Gisu of Eastern Uganda. The relation of production was mainly communal with low production, division of labour based on age and sex

The mixed farmers in East Africa demonstrated achievement in their practices as they developed centralised political organisations for example the Busoga in Uganda under Omuloki, specialised in different activities. Specialisation in these societies resulted into development of trade, at first it was among the mixed farmers and later it resulted in the formation of long distance trade.

This involves spending a given period of time working on land and moving from one area that is exhausted to a new fresh piece of land. It was mainly practiced by the people who lived in grassland plateaus for example Miombo wood land savanna in central Tanzania were the rainfall was little and unreliable and the soil could be easily exhausted

These soils could support the growth of cassava, sorghum, maize, millet, cowpeas, pumpkins plus many more other crops.the rearing of livestock was made difficult due to the fact that these areas were infected with tsetse flies and other livestock diseases. The soils that easily became exhausted necessitated people to move from one place to another in search of the fertile piece of land. However people in some communities were living a settled life even if they were practicing this type of agriculture.

This involves the keeping of livestock. The herding of domestic animals (cattle, sheep or goats), which were real and potential source of food particularly; milk, meat, animal skins and the herds were also exchanged with the different neighboring societies.

Areas with semi arid and arid conditions like scanty rainfall, (rainfall that is just enough to support the growth of pasture), poor soils which could only support pastoralism as the major economic activity within the area. In East Africa the dry areas include the lift valley areas of Tanzania and Kenya comprising of societies like the Maasai, Nyaturu, Barbaig and the karamanjong in Uganda.

Where the people were largely pastoralists their settlement tended to be less permanent as they moved in search of varying season pastures and water.

These people had no centralised political system they used the age set system in their production and they also kept large herds because of their use value and prestige.