A member of Fretilin since 1974, Da Silva served on the diplomatic front for the East Timorese resistance during the years of the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste (1975 to 1999).

In 1976, Da Silva interrupted his studies in Lisbon and was sent to Australia by the Fretilin leadership to lobby support for Timor-Leste's independence struggle.

As Da Silva was not an Australian resident, he had to operate the radio secretly and spent six months in bush of Australia's Northern Territory.

[1] Da Silva studied agronomy at Eduardo Mondlane University, and worked at Marracuene state enterprise as the Chief Agronomist for the Mozambican government.

In 2002, Da Silva completed a two-year post-graduate training course in management and leadership provided by the Asian Development Bank Institute in Tokyo, Japan.

Da Silva is a capable and respected administrator and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is one of the success stories of an independent Timor Leste.

Under Da Silva, Timor-Leste's rice production increased every year except for in 2006 where the political crisis had a negative effect on the country's institutions and economy as a whole.