Peranan Jabatan Pertanian dan Diversiti Pertanian Kolonial di Tanah Melayu, 1920-1938 (Role of Agriculture Department and Colonial Agriculture Diversity In Malaya, 1920-1938)

Abstract

After the First World War, the British needed a cheap supply of raw materials to support the mother country’s industry sector keeps operating. Hence, the imperial economic policy was implemented in the colonies which caused the colonial economic activities to be subordinated to the metropolitan. Following this development, this article analyses the form of metropolitan control over Malaya’s agricultural sector through the role played by the Department of Agriculture. The impact of this control is assessed based on the diversity of colonial agriculture that then leads to the development of tropical crops besides rubber. The development of oil palm, coconut and tea as commercial crops is influenced by high demand in the empire market, especially in London. This study uses CO 717 and 576 records to prove metropolitan control over the Department of Agriculture’s operations, while the Federated Malay States (FMS) report is used to analyse the impact of colonial agricultural diversity in Malaya. This study found that colonial agricultural diversity is more dominant in the FMS which is the major exporter of tropical commodities from Malaya. For this reason, the British only combined the administration of the FMS’ Agriculture Department with the Straits Settlements, whereas the Unfederated Malay States only received the services of the Department of Agriculture from the FMS. Although the Department of Agriculture plays a significant role in carrying out agriculture research, the outcome of the development of commercial agriculture was only dominated by European planters.