Abstract

Amílcar Cabral (1924–1973) was an agronomist and one of the main African thinkers involved in the liberation struggle. In the 1960s and early 1970s he was the leader of Guiné-Bissau and Cabo Verde’s movement for independence from Portuguese colonial domination. Intellectual and political activity was central to his life, in which he sought always to tie together knowledge and social action. This chapter focuses on the writings of Amílcar Cabral on agriculture, soil erosion, mechanization and colonialism, covering the period between 1949 and 1955, which has been less researched, but which prepared the ground for the flourishing of the second phase. His thought and academic work in the field of agricultural engineering includes various articles on Cabo Verde, the work he did to complete his undergraduate degree, and the texts he wrote when he worked as an engineer in Guiné-Bissau. These texts show how Cabral consistently drew attention to the limitations of technological mastery of the land, mainly apparent when that mastery disregards the particular features of the cultural contexts in which it is applied and the fact that it increases the power of some men over others. Even before the social sciences had as yet not incorporated the notions of sustainable agriculture, risk and uncertainty, Cabral discussed the implications of importing the new technologies of industrial societies into Black Africa. This form of discourse, which encompasses contextual knowledge, protection of the land, careful technological choices and social development, stands out forcefully in the writings of Amílcar Cabral the agronomist.