Abstract: The paper sets out to explore the relationship that appears to have existed between pre-colonial migrations and socio-economic change in general and agricultural change in particular on the western side of Lake Malawi. The paper argues that as far as agriculture is concerned the coming in of such migrants as the Ngulube, Balowoka and Swahili- Arabs led to the introduction of some new crops and to the adoption of applicable techniques for their production. The paper concludes that with the passage of time, the trend was toward the establishment, by various peoples who then inhabited the western side of Lake Malawi, of more intensive method of cultivation than those that were obtained in earlier periods.