Andrade has spent the last 25 years working in Mozambique, initially for 10 years as the country manager and regional cassava and sweetpotato agronomist for the Southern Africa Root Crop Research Network. In this post, she led a five-year IITA/CIP project on Accelerated Multiplication and Distribution of Planting Materials of Cassava and Sweetpotato.

In 2006, Andrade joined CIP to manage the Southern Africa Sweetpotato Breeder Platform, while also serving as CIP’s country manager for Mozambique. Now, as principal scientist at CIP, she leads the modernization of sweetpotato breeding in Africa. Andrade has contributed to the release of 30 biofortified varieties of sweetpotato, of which 20 drought tolerant.

Her research has earned her global recognition with several honors, mostly notably by her 2016 World Food Prize which she shared with Howarth Bouis, Jan Low and Robert Mwanga.

Beyond her research, Andrade contributes time and expertise to several advisory boards, including the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI), and the Scientific Advisory Panel for the Global Conference on Green Development of Seed Industries, organized by the FAO.