{{Short description|Cape Verde economist and politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | name= Maria Helena Semedo | image= Self Semedo June 2015.jpg |office = Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) |term_start = June 2013 |term_end = June 2017 |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1959|05|29}} |birth_place = Cape Verde | profession = Economist}} '''Maria Helena Semedo''' (born 29 May 1959) is a Cape Verde economist and politician who served as Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
==Early life and education== Semedo was born on 29 May 1959 in Cape Verde. She has a masters in economics from the Higher Institute of Economics and Management in Lisbon, Portugal.<ref name=cv/>
==Career== Semedo worked as an economist for the Bank of Cape Verde from 1986 to 1991 and for the Ministry of Planning and Cooperation from 1991 to 1993.<ref name=cv/>
Semedo was appointed as Minister of Fishers, Agriculture and Rural Development in 1993, making her the first female cabinet minister in Cape Verde. In 1995, she became Minister of Maritime Affairs, then in 1998 Minister of Tourism. She was elected to the National Assembly in 2001, serving until 2003. During this period she was vice president of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.<ref name=cv/>
Semedo joined the FAO in 2003 as a representative in Niger. She was appointed Deputy Regional Representative for Africa in 2008. In 2009, she was appointed Assistant Director-General in the regional office for Africa in Accra, Ghana. In June 2013, José Graziano da Silva, Director General of the FAO, appointed her Deputy Director-General and Coordinator of Natural Resources and served there till 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.devex.com/news/measuring-success-from-cop21-agriculture-food-security-and-climate-adaptation-87494|publisher=devex|title=Measuring success from COP21: Agriculture, food security and climate adaptation|first=Elena L.|last=Pasquini|date=16 December 2015|accessdate=4 February 2017}}</ref>
At a speech in Rome in 2014, Semedo alleged that if current rates of degradation continue, all of the world's topsoil could be gone within 60 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-continues/|title=Only 60 Years of Farming Left If Soil Degradation Continues|first=Chris|last=Arsenault|work=Scientific American}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://resources.rothamsted.ac.uk/news-and-views/rothamsted-research-views-modern-farming-destroying-soil-read-prof-keith-goulding’s|title=Is modern farming destroying soil?|first=Keith|last=Goulding|work=Rothamsted Research|date=April 2015|accessdate=29 July 2017}}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This was an influential claim that has been frequently repeated, but appears to lack any basis in science.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ourworldindata.org/soil-lifespans|title=Do we only have 60 harvests left?|first=Hannah|last=Ritchie|author-link=Hannah Ritchie |publisher=Our World in Data|date=14 January 2021|accessdate=14 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24232291-100-the-idea-that-there-are-only-100-harvests-left-is-just-a-fantasy/|title=The idea that there are only 100 harvests left is just a fantasy|first=James|last=Wong|work=New Scientist|date= 8 May 2019|accessdate=14 February 2021}}</ref> In 2015, she noted that agriculture is often seen as a threat in the fight against climate change, but that the sector needs "to be integrated in climate policies."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/members-gateway/news/detail/en/c/357972/|title=EL PAÍS, Maria Helena Semedo: "Agriculture should be integrated in climate change policies"|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|date=12 September 2015|accessdate=4 February 2017}}</ref> At the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2016, she spoke about the crucial role agriculture can play in addressing climate change as well as poverty and hunger.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/411696/icode/|title=To fight climate change, invest in agriculture|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|date=22 April 2016|accessdate=4 February 2017|archive-date=30 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630004431/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/411696/icode/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 2017 she called for an immediate response to drought in the Horn of Africa, telling a panel at the 28th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, "The magnitude of the situation calls for scaled up action and coordination at national and regional levels."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56065|title=Warning of dire food shortages in Horn of Africa, UN agriculture agency calls for urgent action|work=UN News Centre|date=30 January 2017|accessdate=4 February 2017}}</ref>
==Personal life== Semedo is married. She speaks Portuguese, French, English and Spanish.<ref name=cv>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/028/mg393F.pdf|date=April 2013|title=Nomination du Directeur général adjoint (Connaissances)|language=French|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|accessdate=4 February 2017}}</ref> In December 2015, while in Kenya, she contracted the Zika virus but recovered well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.devex.com/news/fao-against-zika-virus-no-one-can-fight-alone-87905|work=devex|title=FAO: Against Zika virus, no one can fight alone|first=Eva|last=Donelli|date=30 March 2016|accessdate=4 February 2017}}</ref>
==Awards and honors== * Order of the Niger for "distinguished service to the field of agriculture", May 2008<ref name=cv/>
==Publications== * {{cite web|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2010-07-30-human-catastrophe-looming|title=Human catastrophe looming|first=Maria Helena|last=Semedo|date=30 July 2010|work=Mail and Guardian}} * {{cite journal|first=Maria Helena|last=Semedo|title=Message to Readers|journal=Nature and Faune|volume=26|number=2|pages=1–2|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/ap343e/ap343e.pdf#page=58|year=2012}} * {{cite web|url=http://gbs2015.com/fileadmin/gbs2015/Downloads/Speech_Semedo.pdf|first=Maria Helena|last=Semedo|title=Global Bioeconomy Summit Statement|date=26 November 2015}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.climatechangenews.com/tv/11689 Video interview] from the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Semedo, Maria Helena}} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Cape Verdean economists Category:Women economists Category:Agriculture ministers of Cape Verde Category:Fisheries ministers of Cape Verde Category:Government ministers of Cape Verde Category:Tourism ministers of Cape Verde Category:Women government ministers of Cape Verde Category:Members of the National Assembly (Cape Verde) Category:Food and Agriculture Organization officials Category:Recipients of the Order of the Niger Category:21st-century women politicians Category:20th-century women politicians Category:Cape Verdean officials of the United Nations