Farmers' exposure to communication media in receiving agriculture extension and rural advisory services for farm sustainability

Introduction

Effective communication among agricultural stakeholders is the part and parcel of sustainable agricultural development. The study investigated farmers' exposure to communication media in receiving agriculture extension and rural advisory services (AERAS) for strengthening sustainable agricultural development.

Materials and Methods

The blended method research was conducted in Bangladesh employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches with 390 selected respondents utilizing structured questionnaire during 2022–2023. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 29, along with appropriate scales and scoring techniques were utilized to analyse the data.

Results

Findings indicated that most (94.6%) of the respondents get low to medium exposure to communication media, but majority (75.4%) of them were interested in contacting extension and advisory services without payment (73.6%). A significant portion (70.3%) of the participants perceived that, services delivered by extension officers facilitate farm sustainability. It was also found that respondents were mostly exposed to personal media ($\bar{x}$ = 377.4) whereas less exposed to mass media ($\bar{x}$ = 177.8) for desired services. Moreover, knowledge, proximity to office, access to extension services, organizational participation, innovativeness, training exposure were identified as influential factors increasing the extent of communication exposure.

Conclusion

The results can assist concern departments as well as policymakers to update the curriculum, principles, or module for incorporating effective communication at farm level and modifying the diffusion of innovation systems for farm sustainability.