The Luo around Lake Victoria cultivated millet, sorghum, cassava, sweet potato, and groundnuts. Farming was sharply divided by gender, with women performing most cultivation. Millet beer (bor) featured centrally in ceremony, trade, and daily life. The shift from subsistence to market farming accelerated in the 20th century.
Crops and Growing Patterns
Millet and sorghum were the primary grains, drought-resistant and reliable even in variable rainfall around the lake. Cassava and sweet potato provided emergency supplies: drought-resistant, calorie-dense, and storable. Groundnuts offered protein and were traded for income.
The growing pattern was seasonal. Planting aligned with rains. Weeding required intense labour, particularly from women. Harvest occurred at season's end. Some crops were dried and stored; others (like cassava) could be left in ground and harvested as needed.
Gender Division of Farming
Women were the farmers. While men cleared new fields and prepared soil for use, women did the regular cultivation. Women planted, tended, and harvested. This meant that household food security depended on women's labour and women's knowledge of crops, soil, pests, and timing.
Men engaged in herding and fishing, activities that had different rhythms and required male bodies (for long distance and heavy physical labour) or access to resources (cattle and fishing equipment) that men controlled. Yet food security came primarily from what women grew.
Millet Beer (Bor)
Millet was fermented into bor, a traditional beer that featured in Luo life at every level. Bor was consumed at celebrations (marriage, funerals, initiations), served to guests, offered to ancestors, and consumed daily in modest amounts for calories and pleasure.
Bor was also money and gift. A man could give bor to friends, pay workers with bor, or trade it for goods. Women who brewed excellent bor could build reputation and income.
Bor carried spiritual significance. It was poured as libations to ancestors. It was used in healing rituals and ceremonies. Its presence marked occasions as special or sacred.
The introduction of commercial beer from breweries gradually displaced bor, though traditional brewing persists particularly in rural areas.
Market Farming and Commercialisation
In the 20th century, particularly after independence, subsistence farming gradually shifted toward market farming. Families grew crops for sale in addition to (or instead of) for household consumption. Cash income from agricultural sales allowed purchase of other goods and payment of taxes.
Maize, initially a supplementary crop, became increasingly important as a market commodity. Cotton and other cash crops were promoted. Irrigation schemes developed around the lake. Commercial fisheries expanded.
This shift altered gender relations: as farming became market-oriented, men increasingly participated (or took control) of commercial agriculture, even though women remained the primary farmers. Control of cash income shifted toward men, even though women's labour was essential.
See also: Luo Land and Fishing, Luo Women's Roles, Luo Food Culture
See Also
Siaya County, Homa Bay County, Migori County, Tom Mboya, Raila Odinga, Oginga Odinga, Grace Ogot, Benga Music