Over the past decades, most crop scientists in Africa focused on the problems caused by insects and plant diseases. Weed science was taken granted because weeds were never seen as a serious threat to farming, according to Leonard Gianessi, director of CropLife Foundation's Crop Protection Research Institute. But with the vanishing agricultural labor pool, controlling weeds is becoming more challenging, he adds.
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About the author
Rahilla Zafar
Rahilla Zafar served as a former Devex fellow in Washington, D.C., from April to July 2008 after returning from Afghanistan, where she worked for the International Organization for Migration and the NATO-led mission. Her writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Guardian and Knowledge@Wharton. Rahilla has a bachelor's in public policy from DePaul University and a master's in social policy and planning in developing countries from the London School of Economics.