Improving Agricultural Market Performance:
Developing Agricultural Market Information Systems
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governments had to rely less on direct interventions and more on institutional levers to create
an enabling environment to catalyse growth and development.Following liberalisation, market-supporting institutions became critical in ensuring that
agricultural markets function efficiently and are transparent. Some government-run market
institutions were reformed and/or retained including the following: state-owned economic
enterprises in the agricultural sector, commodity marketing boards and commodity market
regulatory authorities (COMCEC, 2017). The role of cooperatives in the marketing of agricultural
inputs and outputs was also affected by liberalisation, which also involved the development of
new market institutions such as market information systems (MIS), warehouse receipt systems
(WRS) and agricultural commodity exchanges (Coulter and Onumah 2002; and COMCEC, 2017).
Advocates of MIS argued that it will ensure that all parties have access to correct information on
market conditions and are, therefore, able to transact on an informed basis (Shepherd 1997).More than three decades on, a reasonably rich literature on MIS exists, which demonstrates that
some stakeholders, including smallholder farmers (SHFs), have benefited from the
dissemination of ex-post price data. For instance, evidence discussed in this report shows that
relatively new forms of trading can emerge or scaled up in agricultural output markets as a
result of the dissemination of market information and, especially where it includes reliable
forecasts of supply and demand of agricultural commodities. Such systems have also enabled
government and donors to better anticipate and implement actions to mitigate national food
crisis as exemplified by the case in Ethiopia. The recent proliferation of ICT solutions has also
opened up opportunities for new ways to manage MIS, including increased involvement by the
private-sector.However, it is also evident that major challenges exist, which negatively impact on the utility of
agricultural MIS to many stakeholders. The issues include the divergence between the type of
information provided and what farmers and other stakeholders actually want. The capacity of
farmers, for example, to interpret data provided is often limited and the quality, as well as
timeliness of data dissemination, are cited among factors limiting uptake of the information
provided. Furthermore, sustainability remains a major challenge for most MIS and effective
governance of the systems is often overlooked in its design and application. These observations
are consistent with conclusions from similar studies, for example, by Galtier et al. (2014).
1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The main objectives of the study are:
i. To provide an overview and mapping of current MIS in OIC member countries;
ii. To help identify and elaborate options for policy recommendations to improve agricultural
market performance through the use of MIS; and
iii. Provide suitable indicators to allow policymakers to monitor MIS and its use in decision-
making support for agricultural and trade policies.