Recipients of TAA International Honours

Dr Waller was frequently called upon from different parts of the word to fly out and ‘troubleshoot’ outbreaks of new diseases that threatened crops of national importance, such as the outbreak of coffee rust in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and of a major new banana disease in Uganda. If such disease epidemics had been allowed to run unchecked, then whole agri-food industries could have been wrecked, at huge cost to the farmers and countries concerned. More recently, as national capacities have developed, the need for a central diagnostic resource has reduced. Jim then led an exemplary shift in functions of the Global Plant Clinic, towards developing and supporting field-based local plant clinic services that respond directly to farmers’ needs. He oversaw this key change, which led to the development of CABI’s Plantwise programme, a hugely successful programme that has now brought sustainable plant health services right to where farmers need them, being delivered though trained local experts.

As a highly qualified research manager in his own right, Dr Waller was directly commissioned by the Overseas Development Administration and then DFID (now FCDO) to manage and oversee the UK-funded research programme on perennial crops. By pursuing and commissioning valuable research lines on the sustainability of crops such as coffee, cocoa and oil palm, he actively encouraged and enabled measures that, among others, increased the integration with forest cover as shade and reduced the demand for forest clearance and new plantings, measures that we now all see as vital in the battle to reduce agricultural impacts on climate change and biodiversity and to sustain productivity in the long term. Many East African scientists consider Jim to be the champion of coffee health in Africa and with his open, inspiring and inclusive manner – and his ready and infectious sense of fun – regard him as an excellent role model, who has really made a difference in their lives. His research crucially identified and characterised the causal pathogen of coffee berry disease, which can cause losses of up to 80% of the crop and poses a major threat to other key production areas such as Latin America, which it has yet to reach.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colletotrichum_kahawae)

This characterisation has opened new opportunities for breeding for resistance and even for possible biocontrol by harmless microorganisms, providing new hope for the future of the coffee industry in Africa.

Jim’s commitment to developing national capacities also extends to a long list of postgraduate students and young professionals to whom he has provided direct mentoring and supervision and has inspired to be the researchers of tomorrow. His passion and enthusiasm make him a natural teacher and many around the world owe their love of the subject to his vibrant and engaging approach.

Dr Waller has been the author or co-author of five books and some 140 research papers. He notably led the expert team compiling what has become the standard text for any field plant pathologist around the world; the Plant Pathologist’s Pocketbook; one of the most requested books ever published by CABI.

Jim Waller sadly passed away on November 25th 2024. His son, Martin Waller, accepted the Award on his behalf.