Maria Andrade

“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.”

“Protecting crops allows us to breed new varieties to meet the needs of local populations.”

“Initiatives like Food Forever are helping tackle food insecurity and malnutrition in Africa.”

“Sweet potato was also considered a female crop, one that was grown by women and children and consumed by the poorest households.”

“Sweet potatoes were widely grown, they were typically cultivated on small plots of land, and the yield was constrained by insufficient planting material.”

“In Mozambique, at the time cassava was the main food crop, followed by maize, with sweet potato coming a distant fifth.”

“Several other studies that have since been conducted across the world have confirmed biofortification to be a cost-effective and sustainable solution.”

“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.”

“Based on this evidence the Mozambican Government approved a strategy for combating micronutrient deficiencies that includes complementary approaches like biofortification.”

“Our research triggered global acceptance of the concept of biofortification. Since then, biofortification has been confirmed to be a cost-effective and sustainable solution.”