Maria Andrade
Maria Isabel Andrade (born 1958) is a Cape Verdean food scientist. Andrade has worked in Mozambique as a sweet potato researcher since 1996 and was a co-winner of the 2016 World Food Prize.
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Quotes
edit- Our research triggered global acceptance of the concept of biofortification. Since then, biofortification has been confirmed to be a cost-effective and sustainable solution.
- Based on this evidence the Mozambican Government approved a strategy for combating micronutrient deficiencies that includes complementary approaches like biofortification.
- The sweet potato variety has been mainstreamed as a technology for combating vitamin A deficiency. Most importantly, our research triggered global acceptance of the concept of biofortification.
- Several other studies that have since been conducted across the world have confirmed biofortification to be a cost-effective and sustainable solution.
- In Mozambique, at the time cassava was the main food crop, followed by maize, with sweet potato coming a distant fifth.
- Sweet potatoes were widely grown, they were typically cultivated on small plots of land, and the yield was constrained by insufficient planting material.
- Sweet potato was also considered a female crop, one that was grown by women and children and consumed by the poorest households.
- Initiatives like Food Forever are helping tackle food insecurity and malnutrition in Africa.
- Protecting crops allows us to breed new varieties to meet the needs of local populations.
- I have worked in Mozambique to fortify sweet potatoes and make sure that children there get all the vitamins they need to grow healthy and thrive.
