Report

The Africa Herbicide Market size is estimated at 1.23 billion USD in 2025, and is expected to reach 1.49 billion USD by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 3.88% during the forecast period (2025-2030).

Adoption of various application modes majorly depends upon the crop growth stage and weed type


- Africa's agricultural sector is facing various challenges, among which weeds are becoming a major threat to the sector. The region's intensive agricultural practices, no-tillage, and monoculture practices in major crops help various weed species to grow and hamper crop growth. Due to various socio-economic factors, farmers implement herbicide application through different application modes for better weed management and enhanced crop growth.
- The herbicide soil treatment application mode is majorly adopted by farmers as a precaution to control weeds in their early growth stages, which reduces further herbicide use and production costs. The market value for this application mode is expected to increase by USD 153.1 million during the forecast period.
- Foliar herbicide application is the next most adopted application mode and common traditional practice for controlling broadleaf weeds in various crops, which is effective in rapid action by targeting the weed species. The use of the foliar method is expected to grow during the forecast period, accounting for a market value growth of USD 100.4 million.
- Increasing water shortages and advancements in micro-irrigation systems help in the rise of the chemigation mode, which provides the uniform distribution of chemical herbicide applications for better weed management. The market for the chemigation mode will grow by USD 54.4 million during 2023-2029.
- The adoption of herbicide fumigation is limited due to its associated risks, such as spray drift and potential harm to human health. On the other hand, it has been found to effectively control weeds by penetrating the soil and other areas.
- The herbicide market in the region is expected to grow by USD 312.3 million during the forecast period, driven by the increasing weed infestations.

The risk associated with the traditional weeding methods is increasing the need for herbicides in the region


- The African agricultural sector is majorly concentrated in countries like South Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya. Agriculture is one of the most important sectors, and the majority of the population works in it. The sector contributes around 14% to Sub-Saharan Africa's GDP. Among various biotic and abiotic challenges, weeds are becoming a major threat to the agricultural sector. Traditional weed management practices are associated with being time-consuming, becoming more expensive, and needing more labor, and these factors divert farmers to adopt herbicides as a primary method for weed control.
- There was a significant growth in herbicide consumption during the historical period. In 2017, it was 162.0 thousand metric ton, which increased to 198.1 thousand metric ton in 2022. The consumption growth is majorly attributed to the increasing weed infestations and rise in herbicide adoption. On average, every year, weeds are causing yield loss of up to 25% in Africa. The increasing yield losses further drive the herbicide consumption growth by 9,611 metric ton during 2023-2029.
- Grain and cereal crop growers are majorly utilizing chemical herbicides in their cultivation, which accounted for 45.1% in 2022. The dominance of these crops is mainly due to their higher cultivation area and monoculture agriculture practices favoring various weed species to grow. Weeds cause a potential yield loss of up to 34% to cereals crops in the region. This resulted in higher utilization of herbicides in these crops.
- The herbicide market in the region is projected to register a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period, which will solve the problems associated with other methods of weed management.


Africa Herbicide Market Trends



Rising food demand in the region coupled with need for high productivity of the crops will drive the herbicide market


- In recent years, the use of herbicides in Africa has experienced a notable surge. There has been a substantial increase in the consumption of herbicides, reflecting a growing demand for these products in agricultural practices and weed management. From 2017 to 2022, herbicide consumption per hectare in Africa witnessed a significant growth of 89.3%. This upsurge can be attributed to the increased awareness among farmers regarding the advantages of herbicides and their desire to enhance agricultural productivity per unit of land. The wide availability of diverse herbicides in the market has played a significant role in driving the upswing in herbicide usage.
- Continuous and extensive use of a single herbicide or a limited set of herbicides without proper rotation or diversification can lead to the selection of resistant weed populations. Over time, these resistant weeds dominate the landscape, making herbicides less effective in controlling them. Rotation of herbicides with different modes of action to prevent the dominance of resistant weed populations. The most prevalent glyphosate resistance mechanism in Amaranthus palmeri, commonly known as palmer amaranth, was seen in the Republic of South Africa in 2022. Glyphosate is a frequently used pesticide for weed management in a variety of crops. However, the rise of glyphosate-resistant weed populations offers a considerable obstacle to successful weed control.
- Africa's rising food demand has led to a determined push to boost agricultural productivity. Herbicides contribute significantly to increased agricultural yields by lowering crop losses. The necessity to fulfill the population's food requirements drives the reliance on herbicides.


Heavy reliance on herbicide products and changing regulations on import tariffs on herbicides are leading to fluctuating active ingredient prices in the region


- In the African agriculture sector, weeds have emerged as a substantial threat, leading to yield losses of up to 34% in cereals and staple food crops. To address this issue, farmers heavily rely on chemical herbicides for effective weed control, as alternative methods like hand weeding and mechanical weeding have become cost-prohibitive due to labor shortages and rising wages.
- Metribuzin is a herbicide for control of various annual broadleafs and grasses in crops like maize, carrots, tomatoes, beetroot, asparagus, turnip, soybeans, brassicas, cucurbits, onions, peas, beans, wheat, lettuce, tobacco, and strawberries. The price of metribuzin was recorded as USD 16,580.9 per metric ton in 2022, which was 31.3% more than in 2017. This price increase is majorly attributed to the rising demand and unavailability as it is imported from other non-African countries. South Africa is the major importing country, and it imports metribuzin from India.
- Atrazine is the predominant herbicide utilized in maize-producing nations such as South Africa and Nigeria, with approximately 88% of the maize area relying on atrazine for weed control. Its application extends to numerous terrestrial food crops, non-food crops, forests, residential turf, golf courses, recreational areas, and rangelands, making it a widely adopted weed control measure on farms. Due to its expanding usage across different crops, the price of atrazine has been consistently rising each year. In 2022, it experienced a growth of USD 3,292.7 per metric ton compared to the price recorded in 2017.
- Glyphosate is extensively adopted as the region's second most prevalent herbicide, mainly owing to its cost-effectiveness. As of 2022, the price of glyphosate's active ingredient was recorded at USD 1,143.2 per metric ton.


Africa Herbicide Industry Overview

The Africa Herbicide Market is fragmented, with the top five companies occupying 27.04%. The major players in this market are BASF SE, Bayer AG, Corteva Agriscience, FMC Corporation and Syngenta Group (sorted alphabetically).

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