Connecting with Farmers and Improving Engagement with Agricultural Extension Officers to Promote Sustainable Agriculture: The Role of Storytelling as a Public Relations Strategy
摘要
Achieving sustainable agricultural growth through effective, relational, and impact-driven storytelling approaches that capitalize on the synergies of agricultural extension officers, the farming community, and active experts in the agricultural ecosystem has become increasingly essential, especially in experience-based engagements. Despite its potential, research on the benefits of incorporating storytelling into extension engagements in Ghana remains limited. As a result, the study investigates the role of storytelling in harnessing synergy and effective engagement among extension officers, farmers, and chain actors, as well as promoting sustainable agriculture in Ghana. We collected data from a sample of 418 extension agents using the snowball sampling technique. We analysed the data using descriptive statistics, the Relative Importance Index, and the Kendall rank correlation method. Results show that extension officers agree that storytelling is an effective tool for driving active engagement, innovation, and adoption. The impact of stories also depends on how balanced the elements of the story and the extension officer are. The study shows the need for the Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to prioritize storytelling in farmer engagements and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in Ghana.