A baseline study was one of the first activities of a research project on ‘Decentralised Market Information Services in Lira District, Uganda’. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods approach as an entry point, data collection included both PRA techniques and questionnaire surveys. About 70% of farmer households in Lira District own a radio and in most cases it is working. Women generally said that they listen to the radio when their husbands are listening, a fact that limits the potential for programmes specifically targeting women. Good reception and good programmes are the main reasons why certain radio stations are preferred. News, announcements, educational / development programmes, and early morning / gospel programmes are the radio programmes favoured in rural communities. Family/neighbours/friends, Radio Lira (RL) market news, and traders are the main sources of market information for farmers. Suggestions concerning improvements of the RL Market News programme include the following: better coverage of community markets, broadcasting 2 the programme more often (i.e. repetition), involvement of villagers / communities in the programme, more information on crop production, group formation, and crop storage.