Collected Item: “The Groundnut Scheme: a colonial failure”
Contributing Organisation
Contribution Title
The Groundnut Scheme: a colonial failure
Description (This can only be plain text, i.e. no links or bullet points.)
The ill-fated Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme was planned and put into practice in the mid-twentieth century, coming to an abrupt end in 1951. The story of its collapse is a powerful example of why top-down, colonial approaches to agricultural development often struggled to produce the desired results. It raises important questions about why the voices of local agricultural workers and communities were often ignored, and how this contributed to the Scheme’s demise. This online exhibition has been devised to make sense of scattered holdings throughout The MERL collection. Together these groundnut and East Africa-related farming resources can help shed light on this infamous project and its failings.
This exhibition was compiled in partnership with undergraduate History students from the University of Reading, including Charles Clemens, Rebekah Fry, Katie Crook, Jakob Longden, and others. We are also grateful for the support of Atenchong Talleh Nkobou from the School of Agriculture, Policy, and Development who provided support and expertise, and to Tim Jerrome and Dr Ollie Douglas for editorial and technical input.
You can watch the 1948 film, 'The Groundnut Scheme at Kongwa' via the University of Reading's Virtual Reading Room.
This exhibition was compiled in partnership with undergraduate History students from the University of Reading, including Charles Clemens, Rebekah Fry, Katie Crook, Jakob Longden, and others. We are also grateful for the support of Atenchong Talleh Nkobou from the School of Agriculture, Policy, and Development who provided support and expertise, and to Tim Jerrome and Dr Ollie Douglas for editorial and technical input.
You can watch the 1948 film, 'The Groundnut Scheme at Kongwa' via the University of Reading's Virtual Reading Room.
Please enter any caption, rights or alt text information. This will appear with the image.
Still taken from 1948 film entitled ‘The Groundnut Scheme at Kongwa’, showing unnamed workers driving tractors and ploughing virgin soil with disc ploughs (MERL TR17 RAN/PH6/49)
Content Type
Online Exhibition
Subject (1)
Agricultural History
Subject (2)
Imperial and Colonial History
Subject (3)
Food History
Geographical Area (1)
Africa
Geographical Area (2)
Britain and Ireland
Time Period
20th Century
If there are any additional Subjects/Geographical Areas/Periods relevant from the lists above please list them here
History of Science; History of Technology
Additional content type: Video
Additional content type: Video
Contribution URL
https://merl.reading.ac.uk/collections/ransomes-sims-and-jefferies-ltd/groundnut-film/