‘A Very Different Land’ tells the story of how the strong . agricultural economy of present day Kenya is based on the agriculture of the Colonial period, a story told through the eyes of my father and his colleagues. My father, Owen, was an Agricultural Adviser in Kenya from 1928 to 1950, rising from Assistant Agricultural Officer to assistant director of the department. It was a period which saw a transformation in farming throughout all parts of Kenya.

Kenya was always part of my life. I grew up surrounded by talk of life in Kenya, and it was a benchmark of comparison and memory. My parents both loved their life there and my childhood was full of reminiscences and Swahili phrases; when we went to France and my parents were searching for a word in French, out came a word in Swahili.