Ouinhi / AFP Daniel Aboko proudly shows off the 11 hectares (27 acres) of paddy fields he shares with other farmers — a small spread that produces a bounty of food thanks to smart irrigation and a hardy strain of rice. In just four years, small farmers in Ouinhi, southeastern Benin, have seen their rice harvest double from three …

  Bloomberg The European Union seeks to tackle energy market distortions with policies that will eliminate coal and favour natural gas-fired and renewable power while reducing the cost of lowering emissions. The European Commission plan to limit the use of high-emissions generation to secure supply will hurt coal plants starting in 2020, but not modern gas units, according to the …

  Bloomberg Oil prices traded below $52 a barrel as investors eye the potential return of crude volumes from Libya amid continuing tension in the OPEC member that’s exempt from output cuts. Futures were down as much as 0.8 percent in New York following a 2 percent gain on Friday. Libyan oil-facility guards backtracked on an agreement to allow supply …