Joy Geraldine Adiele is an ambitious woman who aspires to replenishing soil fertility in order to increase root and tuber crop production to feed the growing population in Africa, and combat soil degradation. She dreams of attaining a top-level United Nations position, where she believes she could make a difference to ensure the sustainable use and preservation of natural resources. Adiele was raised by her grandmother in a village in southeastern Nigeria, where they grew cassava, intercropped with maize, melon, yam, and cocoyam. During secondary school, Adiele combined studying with petty trading and working in farms to help earn her keep. “It was difficult, but I knew that it was better to go hungry, if need be, as long as I could be able to go to school,” she recalls.