Collaborative pathways: Building evidence-based insights in rural communication services and landscapes in Asia is the product of a deep collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). The book presents evidence‑based approaches to rural communication services in Asia. Since 2014, FAO and IAMCR have collaborated to collect case studies that advance our understanding of rural communication.
Building on the evidence presented in Collaborative Change: Towards inclusive rural communication services (Lie et al., 2024), which brought together 12 case studies, this book presents five case studies from four countries in Asia.
The book addresses the key themes of:
- the diversity of rural communication landscapes and inherent complex interactions
- the expanding role of digital technologies in rural communication processes
- the importance of participatory and context‑sensitive approaches to communication in rural development,
- the significance of trust and credibility within rural communication systems.
The book brings together academic and practitioner insights and experiences, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of rural communication services and the broader communication landscapes in which they operate.
The volume emerges from the ongoing collaboration between FAO and IAMCR's Rural Communication Working Group (RUC). This collaboration began with the pre‑conference preceding the annual IAMCR conference held in 2014 in Hyderabad. The pre‑conference, entitled Communication for Sustainable Rural Development and Social Change, was organised by Wageningen University & Research and IAMCR's Participatory Communication Research Section, in cooperation with Digital Green, FAO and the universities of Queensland, Reading, Guelph, Van Hall Larenstein and Hong Kong (CityU). Through conference discussions, the participants compiled an inventory of current issues and concerns in the field of communication for sustainable rural development and social change and set an agenda for the future.
An important outcome of the conference was the establishment of the Global Research Initiative for Rural Communication (GRI‑RC), formed by several of the organising institutions: The Centre for Communication and Social Change at The University of Queensland, Wageningen University & Research, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, the University of Guelph, the University of Reading, and the University of the Philippines Los Baños. The GRI‑RC operates in partnership with FAO. It aims to collaborate in education efforts in rural communication, to lead research into rural communication for development and social change, and to mainstream this topic into the broader development agenda and practice. To advance these aims, in 2018, it launched the Rural Communication Working Group (RUC) at the IAMCR conference in Eugene, Oregon.
Over the past decade, the collaboration between RUC and FAO has served as a platform for dialogue between scholars and practitioners exploring the intersections between communication, agriculture and rural development. Through conferences, research initiatives and joint publications, the partnership has strengthened the evidence base on communication for rural development and promoted interdisciplinary exchange in this field. In particular, the 2025 IAMCR conference, held in Singapore, provided an opportunity to showcase new research addressing rural communication and related themes. Several contributions presented at the conference were recognised with research awards. These contributions were subsequently developed into chapters for this publication. The present volume, therefore, reflects both the diversity of current research in this field and the growing interest in examining communication processes in rural contexts through empirical and interdisciplinary perspectives.
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Title: Collaborative pathways: Building evidence-based insights in rural communication services and landscapes in Asia
Editors: Lie, R, Acunzo, M., & Samonte, P.
Published: 2026
Pages: 200
Mario Acunzo (1961–2026)
This book is dedicated to the memory of Mario Acunzo, co-editor, colleague and friend, who sadly passed away during the final stages of preparing this book. We will miss him for his personal drive and mission to build on academic research in the field of Communication for Development and Rural Communication Services. Mario brought academics and professionals from FAO, IAMCR, various universities and other organisations together to work in rural communication. His enduring commitment to advancing the field will be deeply missed, as will our warm collaboration.