Agricultural Revolution

Type: Brano

Author: Kamal Keila

Release date: 2018

Genre: Afro Funk

Language: English

Originally recorded in the 1970s as part of the album Muslims and Christians, Kamal Keila’s “Agricultural Revolution” chronicles the suffering of the African people in the face of the Green Revolution ‘s agricultural policies and, in particular, denounces the civil war in Sudan, Keila’s homeland.

At the beginning of the song, the artist addresses his people directly, declaring, “I have a message for the Sudanese people.” He implores to “sew together a solution to hunger“ through a true agricultural revolution.

The 1970s was a highly divisive time for Sudan, which had only been independent from the British since 1956 and was already grappling with a severe economic crisis. New agricultural policies and land grabbing (see Jaspars, 2023) had reduced rural communities to poverty. Governments, imposing commercial production models, forced nomads and pastoralists to abandon their lands.

The song’s simple and repetitive lyrics revolve around the theme of hunger. Keila emphasizes that the solution will not come from outside: only the people themselves, by digging the earth and uniting, can overcome this difficult time.

The refrain- “We need peace, we need love, we need an agricultural revolution “-returns again and again, reiterating the need for a peaceful solution to the food crisis.

Despite the quiet tone of the music, accompanied by trumpets, guitars and drums, the message remains powerful: “Many children are dying. We must stop the war in the south, because what we seek is only love and peace.”

For Keila, only by feeding each other can they end the war against the land and against their own people.