Maria Andrade
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|---|---|
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| Born | Maria Isabel Andrade 1958 (age 65–66) |
| Nationality | Cape Verdean |
| Alma mater | University of Arizona (BS MS) North Carolina State University (PhD) |
| Awards | 2016 World Food Prize |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Agronomy |
| Institutions | International Potato Center |
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.[1]
In 1958, Andrade was born in São Filipe, Cape Verde. She began her education in Cape Verde in Fogo and Santiago.[1] After completing high school, she went to the University of Arizona and graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science, specializing in plant genetics. She completed further education at the North Carolina State University, earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree in plant breeding in 1994.[2]
Andrade began her agricultural career when she started a Cape Verdean vegetable planting program in 1984. While leading the National Research Institute in Cape Verde, Andrade became a member of the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1994. From 1996 to 2001, she worked for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture as a sweet potato agronomist for a research group in Southern Africa.[3]
Andrade subsequently led a project in Mozambique that distributed sweet potatoes from 2002 to 2006. In 2006, she began working for the International Potato Center as a manager of sweet potato breeding in Southern Africa.[4] Andrade's research in sweet potatoes' value of providing the daily vitamin A requirements has led to the global support in their use in biofortification.[5] Outside of her work with the International Potato center, Andrade was the vice president of fundraising for the International Society for Tropical Root Crops from 2012 to 2016.[3]
In 2013, Andrade was named a Nutrition Champion by Transform Nutrition.[6] She was also a co-winner of the 2016 World Food Prize[1][7] and the sole winner of the 2017 M.S. Swaminathan Award for Environment Protection.[8]
