Communication Strategies for Sustainable Urban Agriculture in Thailand

Abstract

Urban agriculture (UA) is being increasingly embraced to improve access to healthy food and enhance urban aesthetics. This study explores the framing of urban agricultural knowledge disseminated via social media through a coding framework and content analysis of eleven clips from the Sustainable Agriculture Foundation (Thailand) on Facebook and YouTube. It also examines factors influencing satisfaction using the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and proposes practical communication strategies. A survey of 200 experienced viewers was conducted and analyzed using SmartPLS 4.0. The findings from both analyses were used to develop communication strategies. Key results showed that leading farmers framed their messages by explaining actions, reasoning, outcomes, and associated health benefits. Clear, easy-to-understand messages drive higher engagement on social media by being accessible, memorable, emotionally appealing, and shareable. Source credibility and information quality significantly influence satisfaction with urban agriculture. Including self-efficacy as a moderating factor, along with source credibility and interactivity, also significantly impacts knowledge satisfaction. An integrated approach to promoting source credibility, information quality, interactivity, accessibility, and self-efficacy in urban agriculture should focus on community-led initiatives, feedback loops, and collaboration with local governments and schools, particularly in sustainability efforts.