On Tuesday, June 25, the 12th World Potato Congress (WPC) concluded with an Industry Award Ceremony in Adelaide, Australia.
The event honoured nine individuals for their lifelong contributions to the potato industry. WPC President Peter VanderZaag — President & CEO of SunRise Potato in Ontario — presented the awards during the sold-out closing gala dinner, attended by over 800 guests at the iconic Adelaide Oval.
The nine Global Industry Award winners were: Nelio Campelio, Philippines; Walter Davidson, Canada; Abd-Allah Md Dhaif-Allah, Yemen; Dr. Paul Horne, Australia; Dr. Liping Jin, China; Dr. Mohinder Singh Kadian, India, Frank Mitolo, Australia; Alan Pye, Australia, Dengshe (Don) Wang, China.
Nelio Campelio, Philippines
Campelio adopted the Apical Rooted Cutting technique and established a family business with greenhouses to produce plantlets for growers. He was an early adopter of the new late blight and PVY resistant variety “Igorota” in 1992, that transformed potato production. This is the first example of a locally bred variety being multiplied to meet the farmer’s demand without importing seed from Europe or North America.
Campelio and his family overcame the major hurdle in rapidly diffusing the Igorota variety through their ARC seed production venture, starting in 1992. By 2010, Igorota accounted for more than 50 per cent of the highland potato crop. An active Northern Philippines Root Crops Research and Training Center (NPRCRTC) farmer-cooperator since 1990, Campelio built an improvised greenhouse in Buguias, Benquet, and successfully multiplied apical cuttings from in-vitro plants. His high-quality planting materials became popular among other farmers.
Today, Campelio’s family continues to lead in ARC technology, providing rooted cuttings or minitubers of various potato varieties, including the staple Granola. They collaborate with national research centers to supply high-quality, pathogen-free tissue culture planting materials, running a successful family business that benefits many highland communities.
Walter Davidson, Canada
Walter Davidson was born in Aughton, Lancashire, England. During his teenage years, he served in the British Army. In 1956, he immigrated to Canada with just $15 in his pocket. Initially, Davidson worked on a farm focused on cattle and grain, but he eventually shifted to growing potatoes on about fifty acres. When the Crang family decided to sell their farm, Walter and his wife Linda seized the opportunity to purchase it, turning his vision into reality. They developed the farm into what is now W.D. Potato Limited.
W.D. Potato Limited is a $120 million, third-generation family business with a large storage and transportation facility on a 150-acre site in Beeton, Ontario. With over 50 years of experience in the potato industry, Davidson has extensive knowledge in growing, handling, storing, and transporting potatoes for the chip processing industry in the U.S. and Canada.
Walter values integrity and believes a handshake seals a deal. He has built relationships with 45 processing chip and seed growers, expanded storage and wash capabilities, and established a dedicated fleet of trucks.
Walter and his wife Linda are committed to giving back to their community, supporting the local hospital, sports organizations, and charities. The vision of W.D. Potato Ltd is to foster long-lasting, beneficial relationships.
Abd-Allah Md Dhaif-Allah, Yemen
Aliah, a potato entrepreneur, has successfully built a thriving potato business over the past 34 years, providing the Thamar Valley community with high-quality seed potatoes of preferred varieties. His enterprise has employed many locals, ensuring food security and good wages. He has been a significant blessing to the Thamar Valley economy.
By 2023, he had built a potato storage facility with eleven rooms and a total capacity of 3,800 tonnes, including cold storage for long-term seed potato storage. He cultivates over 100 hectares of seed potatoes and collaborates with the university and government extension services to ensure fields are properly inspected and virus-infected plants are removed.
The continued war and civil unrest in Yemen make his work even more extraordinary! Awarded by the President of Yemen as the best farmer for potato and wheat as rotation in Thamar valley in 2018, WPC honoured Aliah for his work in addressing food security in his country through potatoes.
Dr. Paul Horne, Australia
As a distinguished applied entomologist, Horne initiated his impactful career in 1986 at the Victorian Department of Agriculture, later establishing. IPM Technologies P/L in 1996—an industry leader in integrated pest management.
Horne’s innovative approach, combining technical expertise with a practical focus on growers, has produced effective agricultural solutions, particularly in potato crops. He leads integrated pest management (IPM) efforts against insect pests like aphids and thrips, which spread potato viruses. His guidance helps growers manage caterpillar pests, such as the potato moth, using IPM principles. His ongoing research tackles challenges from the Tomato Potato Psyllid, a vector for Zebra Chip disease, ensuring effective pest management in regions like Australia and New Zealand.
Under Horne’s leadership, IPM Technologies has significantly reduced pesticide use, promoting sustainable and environmentally responsible pest management practices.
Horne’s knowledge-sharing has positioned him as a trusted authority, impacting the global entomological community. His dedication, grower-friendly approach, and achievements, spanning from the Victorian Department of Agriculture to his current leadership at IPM Technologies, undeniably merit recognition.
Dr. Liping Jin, China
Dr LIping Jin has bred and released over thirty potato varieties for table and processing. She has published over 150 scientific papers and supervised more than 20 graduate students. She is the principal scientist of China Agriculture Research System-Potato under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Over the last 30 years, Jin built a remarkable team of scientists and extensionists, advancing potato research and development across China. Under her leadership, the potato growing area stabilized at about 4.8 million hectares, and average yields increased from 15 to 21 t/ha.
She received the National Poverty Alleviation Innovation Award and the National Innovation Excellence Medal. Her most gratifying achievement is that the cultivars and technologies she developed are widely used by farmers and entrepreneurs nationwide.
Dr. Mohinder Singh Kadian, India
Dr. Mohinder has dedicated four decades to improving potato crops in India and has played key roles in Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Kadian has demonstrated the importance of potatoes in enhancing the socio-economic conditions of the farming community. His expertise in advanced agronomic practices, developing and evaluating new varieties from CIP and CPRI, seed potato production, and the use of True Potato Seed (TPS) has significantly benefited potato farmers and the processing industry in South Asia.
He began his career at the International Potato Center (CIP) as an Associate Scientist in 1983. After retiring in 2018, he continued his dedication to improving the socio-economic conditions of India’s potato farming community. Currently, he serves as a Senior Consultant for CIP, involved in multiple projects across ICAR, Karnataka, West Bengal, Haryana, Odisha, and Meghalaya.
Kadian has made significant contributions to field research and has authored over 122 scientific publications on potato research. He has received numerous prestigious awards in recognition of his impactful contributions to potato research and development.
Mitolo Family, Australia
For over 50 years, the Mitolo family’s legacy has embodied enduring values: tradition, innovation, determination, and above all, family. These values remain at the core of their unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality produce to Australian homes and beyond.
Established on the northern Adelaide Plains in 1972 by Bruno and Angela Mitolo, leadership has now transitioned to the next generation: brothers Frank, Darren, and John. Under Managing Director Frank Mitolo, this dynamic team has pioneered new farming methods, introduced innovative potato varieties (including the world’s first lower GI and low carb potatoes), and embraced cutting-edge technologies. These innovations have solidified their position as industry leaders, setting a benchmark in Australian primary production.
Over five decades, the Mitolo family has meticulously built a reputation for excellence. Their enterprise, Mitolo Family Farms, has become a cornerstone of Australian agriculture, employing more than 800 individuals and achieving annual sales exceeding AUD$280 million.
Operating as a vertically integrated powerhouse, Mitolo Family Farms manages every aspect of the supply chain — from cultivation to marketing. Specializing in potatoes and onions, they have grown into one of Australia’s largest potato producers, spanning 26 farms across South Australia and New South Wales, covering 40,000 hectares. Additionally, they operate packaging facilities in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, servicing major retailers along Australia’s Eastern seaboard.
Under Frank’s leadership, the Mitolo family’s legacy exemplifies the transformative impact of passion, tradition, and innovation, inspiring change for years to come.
Alan Pye, South Australia and New Zealand – awarded posthumously – (1941-2024)
Pye was born in New Zealand in 1941. After leaving school when he was 14 he began a farming career that would span nearly 70 years. He started picking potatoes for two local farmers and instead of wages, was offered seed potatoes by one of them and this started a lifelong passion for potatoes.
Pye, inspired by farming practices he observed in America, became an early adopter of irrigation. He ventured into seed dressing and played a pivotal role in founding the South Island Export Barley Society to enhance returns for barley farmers.
Initially supplying potatoes, carrots, and peas to Watties in Timaru, Pye collaborated with local farmers and businessmen to establish Alpine Foods in Christchurch, which eventually became the McCain Factory in Washdyke. His partnership with McCain led him to Australia, where he co-founded Parilla Premium Potatoes with his son Mark. Today, it stands as one of Australia’s largest operations for potato, carrot, and onion cultivation.
One of Pye’s greatest business achievements was founding Dairy Holdings, now the largest milk supplier to Fonterra, where he was a key shareholder for 14 years. Collaboration was a hallmark of Allan’s farming career, evident in ventures like the seed business, the Barley Society, Alpine Foods, Rushy Lagoon, and Dairy Holdings. Throughout, Allan’s visionary approach involved partnering with others, notably his former wife, Diana, to turn his visions into reality.
Dengshe (Don) Wang, China
Wang graduated from an agricultural university in the 1980s and worked in a research sector as a potato breeder for about 10 years and then shifted his role to the business field. For over 30 years, he always worked cultivating potatoes on 500,000 acres of barren farmland in poverty-stricken areas of northern Hebei, benefiting more than 500,000 families and over 1 million people.
Devoting himself to research, Wang has successfully developed more than 80 new potato varieties and strains. His persistent efforts have enabled the Canadian variety “Shepody” to thrive in China, overcoming previous challenges of cultivation. This breakthrough marks a significant milestone for the Chinese potato industry.
In 2007, Wang founded SnowValley Agriculture Group, which has since evolved into a comprehensive potato value chain enterprise. The company spans potato breeding, tissue culture, seed production, large-scale farming operations, advanced storage facilities, frozen fries processing, and global marketing across China and twenty other countries. With 23 subsidiaries and a workforce of 1,600, SnowValley Agriculture Group stands as a leading player in the international potato sector.
In 2018 and 2022, the company received the “Enterprise Social Responsibility Award” from People’s Daily. In 2023, the company was honored with the “Green Sustainable Development.
