ABSTRACT
During the emergency a radical change was wrought in the settlement pattern in Kikuyuland. The roads and tracks of Kikuyuland also utilize the ridge tops and the communication network reflects this, being very well developed in an east-west direction and very poorly developed from north to south. It is the only area of Kikuyuland on which sugar cane, which is used in beer-making, can be grown well and is therefore particularly valued. Consolidation has led to a marked change in the appearance of the landscape; a pattern of well-defined regular holdings is emerging all over Kikuyuland. An over-dependence upon coffee has already appeared, for it provides 70-80 per cent by value of the Kikuyuland agricultural exports. There is little doubt that the Swynnerton Plan initiated an agricultural revolution in Kikuyuland and brought about a great increase in the wealth and standard of living of the people.
