Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses the question of African expertise in relation to the “developmentalist state” in Senegal. Focusing on food anthropology and nutrition, it explores the role of different generations of Africans experts in producing knowledge and public policies.

Paper long abstract:

This paper addresses the question of African expertise in relation to the "developmentalist state" in Senegal. Indeed from colonial informants to postcolonial experts, Africans seem to play a growing role in the production of knowledge that came to become a central component of the "developmentalist state" (Bonneuil 2001). Focusing on two domains of expertise related to food issues (food anthropology and nutrition), this communication explores the trajectories of different generations of African experts - not necessarily Senegalese - in terms of professional careers, access to political offices and influence on food security policies.

First we will look at the dynamics that transformed the field of expertise and more particularly at the training and professional opportunities opened to Africans between the 1950s and the 1970s. In what ways did the late colonial state and the Senegalese postcolonial state came to rely on African expertise more than their predecessor? In term of careers how did these African experts move between emerging national institutions, growing UN agencies and the older but still present French research centers?

Second we will question the role of African experts in the internal debates and tensions that characterize the "developmentalist state". How "African" is the African expertise in domains related to nutrition and Food anthropology? How does their expertise differ from or coincide with their western counterparts? How do they relate to the redefining of priorities and public policies on food issues in the late colonial state and in Independent Senegal?