The Pan-Africanism of Jollof Rice in the 20th century

My new postdoc project is an exploration of the origins and expansion of jollof rice as a popular dish in West Africa in the postcolonial period. It is part of the larger project: ‘Rice Knowledge and Practices between Pacific Asia and West Africa: International Development meets local farming (1960–1991).’ In this presentation I aim to explore my early thesis and findings connecting the origin of jollof rice as a widespread dish in West Africa with increasing rice imports from Asia and the evolution of national and transnational food cultures with case studies in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. My project will bring together the intersection of post-colonial nation building, food culture, and new economic corridors of the cold war period beyond the poles of United States and the Soviet Union.