Philip Keane completed a PhD in Papua New Guinea on the cause of vascular streak dieback of cocoa, taught agriculture and botany at the University of Papua New Guinea, and then at La Trobe University, Australia, for 40 years, during which he undertook projects and consultancies on pests and diseases of cocoa and agricultural development in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica. He edited an FAO book on Cocoa Pest and Disease Management in Southeast Asia and a Cocoa Extension Manual for the Papua New Guinea Cocoa Coconut Institute.