The Rapid Market Assessment (RMA) of New Products

Farming Systems Research has focused on the generation of new technologies to improve production systems. New technologies often result in new products produced by farmers. It is therefore necessary to investigate the effect of change in production on the market for the product, and market potential before a product is promoted. Market assessments are not often done, partly due to a lack of information on marketing. This paper argues that rapid market assessment (RMA) is a quick and cheap means of assessing market potential at early stages of a project. The methodology of RMA, drawing on RRA is outlined. It consists of (i) locating areas where the product is currently marketed; (ii) generating a qualitative description of the market structure through informal interviews at each level of the marketing system; (iii) choosing a level of the system for detailed study; (iv) interviewing market participants to assess market potential. Finally an evaluation of market potential is made based on the quantity which could be produced and the net price to producers. A detailed example is given of its application to the market for goat cheese in Brazil.