The aim of this paper is to assess the importance of market information and the scope for improving information systems for small scale producers, especially the poor, in subSaharan Africa. The paper is one of four that examine key marketing issues – the others being an assessment of market linkages by Rupert Best, the role of producer organisations by Denis Sautier, and the significance of marketing standards by David Walker. The paper begins by briefly reviewing the factors that cause or exacerbate poor market information. This review enables a more effective identification of the means to tackle such constraints and also shows that there is no simple or uniform solution – problems and solutions will often differ and may be complex. Information is also only part of a package of requirements that are needed to improve marketing – producers often need additional components in order to take advantage of the information on offer. The institutional context of producers – market linkages, producer bodies etc may also be important parts of the package.
