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My research focuses on “The Transformation of Food Culture in Africa.” I have conducted field research in rural villages in Ghana and Ethiopia, where cultivated plants have changed over the past half-century. In Africa, the inhabitants continue to cultivate the crops that were domesticated in Africa. At the same time, they have always interacted with the outside world and adapted new crops and cooking methods. I focus on how their food culture, especially staple crops and their cooking methods, have changed over time and how they have incorporated new elements into their pre-existing food culture.

To explore this, the Hakubi Project will conduct field research in four countries with different combinations of local and introduced crops. The research will explore commonalities and differences across countries in how introduced crops and cooking methods become integrated into pre-existing dietary systems. Based on these results, this research aims to present a general principle for the transformation of African food culture.