Potato Woman of the Year 2018: Dr. Marie Rasochová

HZPC has announced that Dr. Marie Rasochová (80) was designated Potato Woman of the Year 2018.

Dr. Rasochová is well-known for promoting potatoes as the largest vitamin pills in the world by radio, television, in magazines and newspapers and through road shows in the CzechRepublic. Dr. Rasochová been active in the scientific world and later on started in business. She has been educated at the AgriculturalUniversity in Prague with a specialization in genetics and plant breeding. Her career started at the Potato Research Institute in the CzechRepublic and later on became Chief of the UKZUZ, the Central Control and Testing Agricultural Institute. Subsequently, she returned to the Potato Research Institute as Director of Genetics and Breeding. Several research publications carry her name. She received a doctorate (today Phd) for her work and is well known in the potato research work.

In 1994, after the Velvet Revolution in Czech, Rasochová founded the company MEDIPO AGRAS H.B., focusing on introducing new potato varieties, cultivating, breeding and processing potato varieties. She organized trips to the Netherlands to meet and see the Dutch varieties. She started with passion, vision and guts, but hardly anything else. In no time she build up a solid business. Today it is the largest company in its field in the CzechRepublic and an important partner of potato growers. Products of Medipo received several national food quality awards.

Since 2010 HZPC has selected a Potato Man or Woman of the year annually as an honorable recognition for someone who contributed a lot to the potato world commercially, technically or innovatively.

Photo caption: Due to health reasons the trophy was handed to Marie Rasochová’s son, Vlastimil Rasochová.