W.African farm ‘bootcamp’ gets green entrepreneurs into shape

The Rice Processors Association of Nigeria says about one million metric tonnes of rice were smuggled into Nigeria between January and March this year. Richard Ogundele, Founder and CEO of JMSF Agribusiness Nigeria joins CNBC Africa to discuss ways to increase Nigeria’s rice export.

Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business, discusses U.S.-China trade and President Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexican goods on "Balance of Power."

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has commissioned the second phase of the Competitive African Rice initiative which will be implemented in four countries; Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania. Richard Ogundele, Founder and CEO of JMSF Agribusiness Nigeria joins CNBC Africa to explore ways Nigeria can take advantage of this move to boost its rice production.

Customs seize illegally imported truckloads of rice, SUVs

The Tincan Island Customs Command has uncovered thirty-three containers of expired smuggled foreign parboiled rice in Lagos. Another twenty-one containers were also found to contain hundreds of cartons of tramadol, performance enhancement drugs and other unwholesome products.

The closure of borders by President Muhammadu Buhari has encouraged and stimulated the production of local rice production in Borno state.

Farmers under the auspices of Nigeria Farmers Group and Co-operative Society have introduced new machines in the processing of rice to give the product a boost. The farmers say they were motivated by the FG's closure of the country's land borders.

As Nigeria continues to partially close its land borders with Benin and Niger, shoppers in Nigeria continue to lament the high price of rice and other commodities as they celebrate Christmas.

Uncle Ben's rice has rebranded as Ben's Original. The brand announced the name and logo change in an effort to eliminate racist imagery. Following the Black Lives Matter movement, other brands have made similar changes. Meanwhile in France, new restrictive measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 have been met with a backlash. Demonstrations will be held in Marseille on Friday as protesters say "no to a reconfinement of the economy".

Thousands of businesses across the world have been forced to close as the coronavirus crisis bites. However, there have been some winners. The rice processing women of Kontagora in Nigeria say business is thriving.

Federal Polytechnic Ede complains of destruction of rice farmlands

The Rice Processors Association of Nigeria (RPAN) wants the government to empower law enforcement agencies to go to markets and shops to arrest anyone found with foreign rice. This is in a bid to discourage the smuggling of foreign rice into the country.