Submissions

Author Guidelines

Review Articles (by invitation only)

Reviews provide a comprehensive summary of broadly-based topics of general interest to natural product research scientists. Reviews are not limited as to the number of words, tables, figures and references that may be included. Unsolicited reviews are considered only if they are authored by investigators who have demonstrated expertise in the relevant areas. An author interested in preparing a Review for Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR) should provide the title, abstract and a brief outline to the Editor-in-chief, Prof. E.J. Falodun requesting an invitation to submit a manuscript in this category.

Editorial Note

Manuscript in this category discusses important parts, overlooked aspects, or lacking parts of a previously published article. Articles on subjects within the scope of the journal that might attract the readers’ attention, may also be submitted in the form of a “Editorial Note.” Readers can also present their comments on the published manuscripts in the form of a “Editorial Note”.  Abstract, Keywords, and Tables, Figures, Images, and other media should not be included. The text should be unstructured. The article that is being commented on, must be properly cited within this manuscript.

Research Papers

Research Articles are comprehensive accounts of significant and original experimental and/or theoretical results that fit within the scope of Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR). They contain innovative, original, hypothesis-driven research that is supported by sound experimental design, methodology, and data interpretation. JFSAR publishes research articles in the multidisciplinary field of agriculture. Authors are asked to write their manuscripts in a clear, concise and excellent manner.

Articles should be original research work written in English in a concise and understandable manner. It is advised that authors who may want professional assistance with improving the English, or formatting in their manuscript should do so before submitting their manuscript. Manuscript should be in MS word, double-spaced on A4 (8.5" x 11") paper size with 1 inch margins. Article should be in the order:

· Title Page

· Abstract

· Keywords

· Introduction

· Materials and Methods

· Results and Discussion

· Conclusion

· Conflict of Interest

· Acknowledgement

· References

· Tables, Figures etc

The title should be concise, not more than 20 words and should reflect the key elements of the research. The title should be followed by authors’ full name and affiliations. The corresponding author should be indicated with an asterisk and provide the full corresponding address (e-mail address and telephone number).

Ingredients of title

· Titles are of great importance for current awareness and for information retrieval.

· Avoid abbreviations and formulae, where possible.

· The wording of titles should be chosen carefully to provide information on the contents and to function as "points of entry" for information retrieval. Symbols, formulas, or arbitrary abbreviations should not be included in the title. Full title must be in sentence case.

· The title of the manuscript must be written in lower case except for the first word and proper nouns.

Author names and affiliations

· Author names must be given in full, with surnames (family names) all in capitals.

· Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names.

· Indicate all affiliations with a lowercase superscript number immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address.

· Author addresses must be given in English in the following order: Department, Faculty, University, City, Country, with numbers in superscript after each author name to indicate his/her address.  

· Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name for each author.

Corresponding Author

You should designate one author to act as corresponding author. Note that this is the person who will receive correspondence from TJNPR editorial office and needs to be the person who will appear as corresponding author on the paper if accepted.

The manuscript has to be submitted online by the person who is in charge of correspondence at all stages of the editorial process, production, and post-publication. Ensure that phone/fax numbers with country and area codes) are provided, in addition to the e-mail address (preferably an institutional e-mail address) and the complete postal address. Contact details of the other authors must be kept up to date by the corresponding author.

Abstract

Abstract should start on a new page after the title page. A concise and factual abstract, which is unstructured, is required. Abstract should briefly state the purpose of the research, methodology, principal results, main findings, major conclusions and should not be more than 250 words. Abstracts should not be referenced and the use of abbreviations should be minimized and spelled out when first used.

Keywords    

Abstract should be followed by 5 -6 keywords, provided by the authors and separated by a 'comma'. The keywords should be listed in full without abbreviations. These words are useful for retrieval of the paper from various repositories and should be arranged alphabetically.

Introduction

A referenced introduction should set the work in context. The introduction should be kept to a minimum length and relevant to the research described. It should state the rationale, justifications and objectives of the research. Detailed descriptions of routine experimental procedures should be avoided. The introduction must be designed to inform the reader of the rationale and significance of the study.

Materials and Methods

Authors should provide sufficient experimental details to allow others to reproduce the findings presented, but where necessary, synthetic and bioassay protocols should refer to published procedures by literature citation of the original method and any later modifications used. Spectroscopic data for characterization of new compounds should be described in sufficient detail. Plants must be properly identified and authenticated by a taxonomist or experienced botanist and specimen must be deposited in recognized herbarium and voucher number must be stated. Where possible, supporting Information can be useful for presenting experimental details while limiting the size of the main document.

Ethical consideration on use of experimental animals and human subjects

Experiments involving the use of live animals must include a statement of approval by an ethical committee and certifying that such experiments were performed in accordance with all international guidelines and regulations. For experiments involving humans or tissue samples, a statement that informed consent was obtained from the subject or from the next of kin must be included.

Results and Discussion

The Results and Discussion may be combined into a single section or presented separately. They may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings. Authors should present their data in a clear and interpretative manner. Presentation of data should not be duplicated. Discussion should interpret the results and relate them to existing knowledge in the field (with relevant literature). Supporting information can be used if this help to make the result clearer. All results presented in tabular form or graphical form should be comprehensively described in this section.

Conclusion

Authors should state their conclusions or the significance of their findings following the discussion of results. Conclusions should also be summarized in the abstract in order to place the author’s research in proper perspective. The main conclusion of the study should be presented in a short Conclusions section, which stands alone. You should explain whether your findings supported your hypothesis. Avoid using references in conclusion section.

List of abbreviations

If abbreviations are used in the text, they should be defined in the text where first used.

Tables and Figures/Graphics

Tables and figures showing the results of the experiment should be placed at the end of the manuscript after the list of references. Tables and figures not displaying the results of the experiment should be placed within the body of the manuscript closed to the point where they are mentioned. All tables and figures should be referred to in the text of the manuscript.

Tables

Tables should have the following characteristics:

· The table should be created using table format feature. Ensure each data entry is in its own table cell.

· Tables should be without borders and shadings except for column headings and bottom border.

· Tables should be consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals.

· Tables should have a descriptive heading that, together with the individual column headings, makes the table self-explanatory.

· Footnotes should be given letter designations and cited in the table by superscript letters.

Figures/Graphics

Figures/graphics should give the reader a quick visual representation of the important results and/or the essence of the paper without providing specific details. All figures/graphics should be submitted using the following guidelines:

Conflict-of-Interest Disclosure

A statement describing any financial conflicts of interest or lack thereof is published with each manuscript. During the submission process, the corresponding author must provide this statement on behalf of all authors of the manuscript.

Acknowledgements

Funding body and all those who assisted in the work but may not qualify as an author should be acknowledged.

References: 

Use of reference management software is recommended for this section, to minimize confusion and inconsistencies. Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR) uses the Harvard citation style. Only published articles (journals and proceedings) or books may be cited. In addition, articles with evidence of official acceptance by journals for publication are considered as “In press” and are citable. Some are sometimes verifiable on journal websites. Articles referred to as “In press” should not be dated older than one year relative to the time when the current manuscript is being submitted. Papers presented at conferences or workshops dating two years or more without being published should not be cited. All author names should bear their initials after the surname or last name of each author or co-author, but separated by a comma.  Examples of reference listing:

For journals list as:

Falodun, E.J. and Egharevba, R.K.A. 2018. Influence of poultry manure rates and spacing on growth, yield, nutrient concentration, uptake and proximate composition of onion (Allium cepa L.). Notulea Scientia Biologicae, 10 (1):117-123.

For proceedings list as: 

Falodun, E.J, Ehigiator, J.O, Egharevba, R.K.A. 2015. Morphology and yield of onion (Allium cepa L.) as affected by spacing regimes and varied rates of poultry manure in Edo rainforest of Nigeria. Proceedings of 1st University of Benin Annual Research Day (UBARD) Conference, 282 - 289.

Kibunja, N.C. 1985. Agricultural residues as rhizobia carriers in Kenya. In: Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Africa. Proceedings of the First AABNF Conference, Nairobi Kenya. H Ssali and S.O. Keya (Eds.). Matianum Press Consultants, Nairobi. pp.160-172. 

For books list as: 

DeVries, J. and Toenniessen, G. 2001. Securing the Harvest: Biotechnology, Breeding and Seed Systems for African Crops.  The Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK. 208pp.

For online publications list as (include DOI where available):

Somayanda, M., Morete, I., Ismail, J.M., Rainer, S., Johnson, S. 2013. Zn uptake, translocation, and grain Zn loading in rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes selected for Zn deficiency tolerance and high grain Zn. Journal of Experimental Botany. doi: 10.1093/jxb/ert118.

Zachary, G.P. 2008.   Africa plays the rice card.  Foreign Policy.  May/June 2008 (web-exclusive story). http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story id=4306. Accessed 26 August 2008.

For thesis list as:

Abebe, G. 2012. Soil characterisation and evaluation of slowrelease urea fertilizer rates on yield traits and grain yields of wheat and Teff on vertisols of Jamma district of South Wollo Zone, Amhara Region. M.Sc. Thesis. Haremaya University, Ethiopia. 72pp.

Reference to a chapter in an edited book

          Mettam GR, Adams LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS,Smith RZ (Eds.). 1994. Introduction to the electronic age. New York: E-Publishing Inc;281-304 p.

For others:

Personal communication may be cited only in the text and not listed in the Reference section. Provide name, title, institution or organisation (address), and year. Only top professionals/experts on the subject are considered for “personal communication”.

In very rare cases, critical unpublished materials may be accepted for cited only in the text.

There may be cases of articles not easily accessible, particularly electronically. In such cases use of “as cited by” could be acceptable, but only the citer’s article is listed in the Reference section of the manuscript.

Illustrations:  All illustrations (Tables, Figures, maps, photos, drawings, etc.) and information about them should be complete to make them independent of the main manuscript text. Captions should be brief, but should adequately describe contents, in some cases including the name of the nearest city and host country. The word Table should be in uppercase letters, and should be numbered with Arabic numerals. Figure captions should be typed on a separate sheet of paper. In the text, spell out the word Figure but abbreviate it to Fig. within the sentence. Within the Tables, the first letter of the identifiers of the columns and row should be in upper-case. Also, footnotes are designated with superscript lowercase letters. Use SI units of measurement, and italicise all non-words (except names) and scientific names. Use numerals before standard units of measurements, e.g. 3 g, 9 days, 36 hr, 50 kg ha-1, metric tonnes and t.  Use words for numbers one to nine, and numerals for larger numbers, especially in the text.

Graphs should not be in boxes and X and Y axes should be marked clearly. Photographs should be extremely vital to impact readers about, for instance, a new disease symptom or effect of a treatment. Good photographs replace a great deal of text and not vice-versa. Illustrations should permit adjustment of size at least up to 50%. Use of coloured illustrations is encouraged for our online publication.

Manuscript Submission Process

All manuscript should be submitted electronically via the journal website Manuscript submission system or by email attachment to the editor-in-Chief editor.jfsar@gmail.com . The author who submitted the manuscript automatically becomes the corresponding author and must provide contact information (full name, email address, institutional affiliation and mailing address) for all the co-authors.

Cover Letter

All manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter that contains clear and precise information about the submission, highlighting the significance of the work. Each article/manuscript must be accompanied by a statement that it has not been submitted for publication elsewhere in English.

Publication cost/Open Access Fees

Accepted articles will be published online for free open access for all to view. Open access publishing provides the maximum dissemination of the article to the largest audience.

Publication Charges

All corresponding authors will be asked to pay their publication charges as open access fee per published article which allows indefinite free-to-view online publication. This is made possible by an article-processing charge (APC) that covers the range of publishing expenses. These includes provision of online tools for editors and authors, article production and hosting, liaison with abstracting and indexing services, and customer services. To support its open access publication, Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR) therefore requests authors to support the publication and sustainability of the journal by paying an article-processing charge (APC) for each article editorially accepted for publication. The fee may be charged to either you (author), or your funder, institution or employer.

JFSAR Fees:

Nigerian Authors (total): N45,500
Handling fee (mandatory) = N10,000 upon submission
Publication fee = N35,500 upon acceptance.

International Authors (total): USD$150
Handling fee (mandatory) = USD$20 upon submission
Publication fee =USD $130 upon acceptance.

*All payments are non-refundable.

The mode of payment is available under the payment option menu. For further details, e-mail: editor.jfsar@gmail.com

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Frequency of Publication

Four issues a year, with rapid, rigorous review and publication.

Proof reading:  Galley proofs will normally be sent to the author for approval for final publication.

Style and format: Authors are advised to consult the most recent issue of the Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR)  

Review system:  All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor. If found suitable for further consideration and publication, manuscripts are subject to peer review. The Journal appoints two active researchers or experts on the subject of the manuscript. Reviews are anonymous; however, the names and addresses of the authors are kept on the manuscript for reviewers and authors to widen their future partnerships. Whenever contrasts of opinion arise between the two reviewers, a third reviewer is appointed or the editorial committee makes a decision based on the intensity of the review reports from the both reviewers. The Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR) leverages from the enormous global pool of experts to peer review manuscripts through Google Scholar.

Paper revision: An author receiving reviewers’ comments for revision or correction should submit the revised manuscript in accordance with the deadlines provided by the Editor. Longer intervals may lead the manuscript being treated as a new submission. Authors are supposed to return the revised version of the paper along with the “comment-by-response” rebuttal sheet.

Quality control policy and conflict resolution: Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR) operates a zero-tolerance policy to research and publication misconduct (including plagiarism, falsification, cheating and other forms of ethical misconduct). Offenders are alerted and barred from subsequent publication with the Journal, unless they provide satisfactory rebuttals. We use the two-anonymous tire peer reviewer system, and adopt a third one in case of conflicting review reports. We access global expertise for peer reviewers for various disciplines. This is very helpful in resolving local conflicts within our limited and fairly slow review system. Ultimately, the editorial committee evaluates the reviewers’ reports for objectivity and adequacy and neutrality, and the outcome, in part is a basis for further considerations/re-appointment of reviewers for other engagements. Feedback from the journal readership, authors, reviewers and International Editorial Advisory Board constitutes key input into the journal’s quality improvement.

Abstracting/Indexing

Papers published are abstracted and indexed by scientific indexing services SCOPUS (Q3), index Copernicus, Open J-Gate, Google Scholar, EBSCO Host, EMBASE.

Publication Fee Waiver and Discount Policy

At the Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR), we are committed to promoting equitable access to scientific publishing and supporting researchers globally, particularly those from low-income regions.

In line with the DOAJ Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing https://doaj.org/apply/transparency, the following waiver and discount policy applies:

1. Full Waivers
JFSAR offers full waivers of article processing charges (APCs) to authors who:

o Are affiliated with institutions in countries classified by the World Bank as low-income.

o Demonstrate financial hardship and are unable to secure institutional or external funding to cover publication costs.

2. Partial Discounts
A 50% discount on APCs is available to authors from lower-middle-income countries, as defined by the World Bank, and to early-career researchers or graduate students who may have limited research funding.

3. Special Considerations
Additional waivers or discounts may be granted on a case-by-case basis, particularly for high-quality submissions that significantly contribute to the field of food security and agriculture research.

4. How to Apply
Authors requesting a waiver or discount should submit a formal request letter at the time of manuscript submission, providing:

o Details of their institutional affiliation and country.

o Justification for the waiver or discount request.

o Any supporting documentation (if applicable).

5. Editorial Independence
All waiver and discount requests are assessed separately from the peer review process to ensure that editorial decisions are made solely based on the scientific merit of the manuscript.

6. Transparency
Our waiver and discount policy is openly accessible on the journal's website to maintain transparency and fairness in the publication process.

For details:

Editor-in-Chief:
Professor E.J. Falodun
Journal of Food Security and Agriculture Research (JFSAR)
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, 300001, Nigeria
E-mail: editor.jfsar@gmail.com; editor.jfsar@uniben.edu; Tel: +2348080641084