First catch your market

The small-scale food processing sector is growing fast, with benefits including more employment, export earnings, and better nutrition. With great potential, the sector still faces severe constraints, especially in getting sound market information. It was to identify and propose ways of removing constraints that a workshop was held in Entebbe, Uganda from 2 to 6 November 1998, 'Strategies for strengthening small scale-food processing enterprises in Eastern and Southern Africa'. The 60 participants from the region were a select blend of entrepreneurs and representatives from research and support services, universities and NGOs. They underlined the pressing need for appropriate, accurate, understandable and timely information. However, very few organisations are able to produce and provide it, and even when available, most small-scale processors do not know how to obtain or use it. These issues of improving availability and quality were high on the list of workshop recommendations, which also covered information services of banks and financial institutions; making training more demand-driven; encouraging new and existing trade and producer associations, exhibitions and fairs; training entrepreneurs to share their own information; and developing private and public sector market research organisations. The workshop was jointly organised and funded by the German Association for Appropriate Technology (FAKT), the German Foundation for Development (DSE), the Ugandan National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) and CTA.workshop was held in Entebbe, Uganda from 2 to 6 November 1998, 'Strategies for strengthening small scale-food processing enterprises in Eastern and Southern Africa