Digital Communication for Agricultural and Rural Development: Participatory Practices in a Post-COVID Age

by Ataharul Chowdhury (Editor), Gordon A. Gow (Editor)

Overview

This volume presents insights on the challenges of digital communication and participation in agricultural and rural development. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that digital technology and mediated participation is more important and essential in managing ongoing communication for development projects than ever before. However, it has also underscored the various challenges and gaps in knowledge with digital participatory practices, including the further exclusion of marginalized groups and those with limited access to digital technology. The book considers how the concept of participation has been transformed by the realities of the pandemic, reflecting on essential principles and practical considerations of communication for development and social change, particularly in the context of global agriculture and food security, the well-being of rural communities, and evolving environmental challenges, such as climate change. In gathering these insights, this volume highlights lessons for the future of participatory development in communication for development and social change processes. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of agricultural and rural development, communication for development, digital communication, and sustainable development more broadly.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032252094
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/26/2025
Series:	Earthscan Food and Agriculture
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ataharul Chowdhury is an Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph and the President of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education. He has led various collaborative projects with national, regional, and international partners to facilitate sustainable agriculture and rural development in remote and resource-poor communities. His research focuses on topics like agricultural advisory services and knowledge mobilization, climate change, communication and innovation studies, digital development, technology adoption, and misinformation.

Gordon A. Gow is Director of the Media and Technology Studies unit at the University of Alberta, where he is cross-appointed with the Department of Sociology. He has led various collaborative research projects in digital leadership and literacy with community-engaged projects, including a technology stewardship initiative with Canadian and international partners.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction  Part 1: Reflecting on the Participatory Paradigm in C4D  2. Non-negotiable components of participation in the digital age of communication for development and social change  3. Datafication, aggregation, and heteromation: Participation in a digitally mediated world  Part 2: Critical Perspectives on Digital Participation  4. Data-driven digital participation in agri-food context: Why should C4D and CfSC scholars and practitioners pay attention to information disorder?  5. Agricultural extension, social media, and the dilemma of path dependency  Part 3: Lesson for a Post-COVID Era: Practices, Experiences, Cases, and Tools  6. DigitalNWT — Adapting digital tools to support remotely managed digital literacy research, education, and communications in Northern Canada  7. The paradox of digital participation and misinformation: Lessons from online agri-food communities of practice in Trinidad and Tobago  8. Inclusive digital pathways for agricultural extension: Exploring micro-level innovation with technology stewardship training in Sri Lanka and Trinidad  9. School closures on rural education: Examining remote learning experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile  10. Are rural smallholders ready for agricultural digitalization? Farmer (In)competencies and the political economy of access in digital agricultural extension and advisories in Northern Ghana  11. Redefining the use of ICTs as tools for empowering farmers and rural communities: A Malawian case study  12. Internet use genres: A lens for analyzing patterns of Internet adoption in rural communities of Canada, Chile, and Vietnam  13. Teaching community engagement in the Digital Age: Reflexive pedagogical experiences  14. Masculinity and participation in China: Exploring ideals and practices of development in a Heyang village  15. Participatory practices and lessons from scientific animations without borders and a WhatsApp network in a post-COVID age: The case of video animations for rural agriculture  16. Conclusion