This article discusses the use of herbicides across Africa. Herbicides may help to raise yields and contribute to food security, while they also reduce the large labour burden associated with manual weeding, which is often done by women and children. However, herbicides may also have negative effects on environmental and human health, particularly when substances are not carefully handled and no protective equipment is used. 

The article is written by PARI researcher T. Daum, C. Schweizerhof and C. Schunko from the University of Hohenheim.