This paper discusses the role of information in national development, addressing such issues as for whom and for what purposes information is needed in developing countries, the impact of the information explosion on the Third World, and the problems inherent in current national and international information infrastructures. A series of statements formulated at the COSTED-UNESCO Expert Meeting (held in Bangalore, India, in 1978) on the kind of information needed by developing countries is presented. As an example of information that is useful for developing countries but expensive to access, a list of online databases in the field of agriculture, along with their associated usage fees, is provided. Weaknesses in the information infrastructures of developing countries described by the 1975 FAO Conference on agricultural research are reviewed and the recommendations made at the conference for the strengthening of national and international information infrastructures are summarized. An 8-item reference list and a checklist on information infrastructure accompany the text. (JL)