Industry

Industry – Any form of economic activity through which people produce goods and services for their consumption.
Industrialisation– Process through which a country establishes manufacturing industries. A country is referred to as industrialised when production of manufactured goods is the main economic activity in that country. Less industrialised countries mainly produce agricultural raw materials.

Factors Influencing Location and Development of Industries

Raw Materials

• Industries are located near sources of raw materials to reduce transportation costs e.g. sugar milling factories in sugar growing areas, mostly in urban areas near airports and oil refineries at the coast since oil is bulky and expensive to transport inland.
• They are also established where there is a steady source of raw materials in order for them to be economically viable e.g. oil refineries at the coast

Power

• They are located near main power supply pints to reduce the cost of transmitting power e.g. those in Jinja town near Owen falls dam.

Transport and Communication

• They are located where transportation system is well established to ensure efficient and quick transportation of raw materials to industries and finished goods to the market e.g. in urban centres.
• They are located where there is efficient communication so as to stay in touch with their suppliers and their consumers.
• Well developed communication systems also lower the transport cost.

Market

• They are located where buyers of products are available or in areas with dense population to make their operation to be economically viable since they are established for commercial purpose to make a profit e.g. in urban areas, Kenya highlands, lake region and coastal strip.
• Location near markets is also due to the nature of goods e.g. perishable goods have to be consumed before they go bad e.g. bread and daily products. Industries making fragile goods are located near markets to prevent the high risk of breakage during transportation e.g. glass, bricks and roofing tiles.

Labour

• Labour intensive industries are located in densely populated areas where there is adequate and cheap labour to reduce production costs.
• Also so as to reduce the cost of transporting and housing workers.
• A country with skilled manpower has faster industrial growth than that without which are forced to depend on expatriates who are costly to hire and maintain which lowers the profits of such industries.
• Industries also require skilled manpower and management skills to ensure maximum output and low production costs.

Water Supply

• Some are located near sources of water such as large permanent rivers and lakes to provide water for processing raw materials e.g. coffee pulping, sugar milling e.g. Mumias near R. Nzoia, Sony near R. Migori and Chemilil near R. Nyando.

Government Policies

• Decentralisation of industries or encouraging by providing incentives location of industries from urban to rural areas.

Incentives

• Tax exemptions
• Protection from foreign competition.

Aims

• Develop all parts.
• Create jobs in rural areas to minimize rural-urban migration.
• Take industries where labour is found.
• Open remote or underdeveloped areas for development.
• To reduce congestion in the capital city.
• Environmental reasons whereby industries are located away from residential areas because they produce harmful fumes and a lot of noise.
• Security reasons to prevent industries from being attacked by terrorists because if they were all together there would be a great loss.
  E.g. EPZ industries located at Athi River to reduce congestion in Nairobi industrial area and Mariakani and Kikuyu Steel Rolling Mills established in their respective areas to open up the region for development

Industrial Inertia

• Tendency of an industry to remain in a particular place even when the factors for its location no longer exist e.g. industries in the Ruhr Region of Germany have remained at the same place despite closure of coal fields and decline in coal as an energy source.

Causes

• It may be expensive to move to a new place because new factory buildings would have to be constructed, buying new machinery and equipment.
• Due to availability of experienced workers.
• To avoid the problem of transportation and other basic infrastructural facilities.

Capital

• A lot of capital is required in establishing and developing industry e.g. for purchasing land, putting up buildings and purchasing machinery and equipment.
• Countries with plenty of capital industrialise with greater ease than those with little capital which often rely on foreign aid and multinational corporations to set up domestic industries which reduces benefits accruing from such industries.

Personal Decisions

• Security to allow secure operations.
• Where they can get maximum benefits.
• To set industries in their home areas to offer jobs to their local people.

The Cost of Land

• A place where land is expensive discourages industrial development e.g. industries are now being established in the neighbouring towns of Kitengela, Ruiru and Athi River because land is expensive in Nairobi.

Types/Classification of Industries

a) According To Raw Materials Used, Products and Level Of Production

i) Primary /Processing Industries
Industries involved in the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. mining, fishing, forestry and agriculture) or processing raw materials into more useful and valuable form which are used in making final products e.g. coffee pulp factories, cotton ginneries, milk dairies, sugar factories, saw mills, abattoirs, leather tanneries, posho mills and sisal factories.

ii) Secondary /Manufacturing industries
Ones which rely on processed goods to make final products or which make final products directly from raw materials e.g. sweet industries, bread, cement factories, oil refineries, cigarette making, pulp and paper industries, etc.

iii) Tertiary /service industries
Industries involved in providing services and don‟t produce tangible goods e.g. transport and communication, trade, banking, tourism, administration, education, medical, etc.

b) According To the State of Finished Goods

i) Heavy Industries

• Manufacture heavy and bulky products.
• Use heavy raw materials.
• Involve heavy investment in their production.
• Production is in large scale e.g. ship building, car manufacturing and assembling, oil refineries, steel rolling mills, fertiliser making plants, glass industries etc.

ii) Light Industries
Ones involved in making goods with little volume and weight e.g. textile, cosmetics, plastic, printing, electronics, cigarette, etc.

Distribution of Industries in Kenya

Agricultural Industries

1. Agricultural Food Processing Industries
Located where raw materials are produced because they require immediate processing e.g. tea factories, sugar factories, milk Processing plants in the leading dairy farming regions e.g. Eldoret, Nakuru and Kiganjo, coffee factories in coffee growing areas e.g. Kiambu, Nyeri, Embu, fruit canning e.g. Del Monte in Thika and Kenya Orchards Company in Mua Hills in Machakos, Maize milling e.g. Unga Ltd in Eldoret Kisumu and Nairobi, Brewing industries e.g. East African Breweries at Ruaraka, KMC plants at Athi River, etc.

2. Agricultural Non-Food Processing Industries
Cotton ginneries, sisal factories, Bata Shoe Company in Limuru, cigarette making e.g. mastermind and BAT, Lumbering industries e.g. Pan African Paper Mills in Webuye near extensive pine plantations in Turbo And Webuye, textile industry e.g. Kisumu Cotton Mills in growing areas of W. Kenya.

Non-Agricultural Manufacturing Industries

Many are located in urban areas where there is a large ready market, reliable power supply and adequate labour force

• Cement factories at Athi River and Bamburi.
• Oil refining at Changamwe in Mombasa.
• Steel rolling mills in the industrial area of Nairobi where scrap metal is available.
• Central glass company at Kasarani.
• Clay products industries near Ruiruand Githunguri near sources of clay.
• Vehicle Assembling industries which import car components and join them to make cars e.g. General Motors in Nairobi
• Vehicle Assemblers in Mombasa.
• Pharmaceutical industries which manufacture medical products e.g. Glaxo Smithkline and Beta Health Care in Nairobi.

Cottage Industries

Industries involved in making products particularly in homes using hands and simple tools.
Characteristics

1. Locally available materials are used.
2. Capital infested is small.
3. Most of the products are sold to the local market but few are exported.
4. Skills are acquired informally.
5. Use of hands and simple and sometimes advanced tools.
6. Usually involve an art or skill possessed by a person to produce items that are in demand in the neighbourhood.
7. it‟s labour intensive.
8. Very few items are made because the market for items is usually small.

Examples of Cottage Industries

Pottery
– Cottage industry in which pots and flower vases are made using clay. – Its practised mainly in eastern and central provinces and by women. – Examples of areas are Kwale and Muranga.
– Wood and Stone Carving – Involves curving of wood and stone into various shapes of animals, humans, etc.
– Wood carving is practised in Kitui and Machakos while soapstone (soft metamorphic rock) carving is done in Kisii.
– Some products are sold locally while the rest are exported with some being bought by tourists as souvenirs (reminder).

Weaving
-Involves using sisal, dry palm leaves dry papyrus, nylon fibres etc to make products such as baskets, mats, and fish traps etc.
– Baskets mainly known as Ciondos are mainly done by Agikuyu women and are sold locally and to tourists.
– Weaving is also practised along the coastal region where dry palm leaves are used to make baskets, mats, etc.
– Other cottage industries are such as those making use of scrap metal to make metal boxes, wheel barrows, energy saving jikos, rain harvesting gutters, poultry harvesting equipment, swords, knives, spears, jembes, iron bells and jingles and boat making common among communities living around L. Victoria and along the coast.

Jua Kali Industries

– The most common and popular cottage industry.
– Jua kali practitioners include those who are employed in all informal sectors of the economy such as shoe repairers, tailors, carpenters, watch repairers, barbers, mechanics, and tyre-menders, – Jua kali industries are found in all urban centres.
– The most common activity is reprocessing old scrap metal to produce useful products listed above.
– The government has realised the importance of the industry and is encouraging its development in the following ways:

• The ministry of Trade and Industry has set up a department to promote this industry.
• KIE provides loans to Jua Kali industry for the purchase of materials.
• KIE has put permanent structures/sheds where the artisans can operate at low costs.
• The local authorities have set aside land for use by Jua Kali artisans
• Jua Kali artisans have been encouraged to form cooperatives to assist in the marketing of their products.

Importance of the Jua Kali Sector

1. Has created employment opportunities to many people who would otherwise be jobless offering them a means of livelihood, alleviating poverty.
2. It has helped to raise the standard of living of many Kenyans who rely on it for income.
3. It utilises materials that would otherwise be thrown away to make items.
4. Jua Kali products earn the country substantial foreign exchange when they are exported to COMESA countries.
5. The industry produces cheaper goods than those produced in the formal industries.

Significance of Industrialisation to Kenya

1. Kenya earns foreign exchange after exporting her manufactured goods.
2. Industries employ people providing them with income.
3. Industrialisation has led to development of transport and communication and social amenities.
4. Agricultural based industries have led to increased agricultural production.
5. Establishment of industries has led to diversification of the economy thereby helping the country to earn revenue.
6. Workers in industries have joined together and formed co-operatives in which they save money and are then given loans which they use to start projects or generally enhance their living standards.
7. Industrial exports reduces over reliance on imports.
8. Establishment of industries promote development of urban centres because it encourages people to move to the area in search of jobs and accommodation

Problems of Industrialisation and Their Possible Solutions

1. Kenya lacks adequate capital for industrial establishment forcing her to get loans from financial institutions such as I.M.F and World Bank whose interest rates are very high and sometimes come with strings attached.
2. Industries suffer from the problem of raw materials e.g. agricultural industries when agriculture fails due to adverse weather conditions.
3. Local market for industrial goods isn‟t sufficient to sustain production due to low purchasing power.
4. Lack of skilled labour due to brain drain forcing the government to employ expatriates whose salary package is very high thus lowering the profits.
5. Locally produced goods compete with imported goods which are in most cases cheaper leading to the decline or death of local industries.
6. There is the problem of the high cost of energy due to importation of petroleum at very high cost causing the industrial costs
7. Industries cause environmental degradation e.g. pollution from the emissions
8. Rural to urban migration,caused congestion in urban areas leading to pressure on existing social amenities, inadequate job opportunities leading to crime and other social evils
9. Has led to displacement of people by forcing people to vacate the area where manufacturing industries are being established e.g. the preparation for titanium mining at Kwale District.
10. Has led to the neglecting of agriculture when able bodied people move to urban areas to look for jobs in industries