African Agricultural Union

The African Agricultural Union (French: Syndicat agricole africain, SAA) was the first quasi-political party in Côte d'Ivoire, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny throughout its existence.

[1] Under his presidency, it brought together African farmers who were dissatisfied with their paychecks and worked to protect their interests against those of European settlers.

[2][3] Anti-colonialist and anti-racist, the organisation demanded better working conditions, higher wages, and the abolition of unfree labour.

He proposed a bill to abolish forced labour, the single most unpopular feature of French rule,[3] on 1 March 1946 which the Assembly adopted in 1947.

[5] On 9 April 1946,[6] Houphouët-Boigny, with the help of the Groupes d'études communistes d'Abidjan, recreated the SAA as the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI),[7] the first effective party in Côte d'Ivoire[8] and the Ivorian section of the African Democratic Rally.