Submissions

Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

1. About AgriPaT

The Journal of Agricultural Policy and Transformation (AgriPaT) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal publishing rigorous, original, and policy-relevant research on agricultural policy, socioeconomic transformation, sustainable development, and agri-food systems. The journal welcomes interdisciplinary and comparative contributions that connect research evidence with policy, institutions, and practice.

Authors should ensure that their manuscripts fall within the journal’s aims and scope and offer a clear contribution to scholarship, policy, or agricultural development.

2. Manuscript Categories and Length

AgriPaT accepts the following categories of contributions:

• Original Research Articles: 3,500–7,000 words, presenting original empirical, theoretical, or applied research.
• Review Articles: Up to 8,000 words, offering systematic, critical, or evidence-based assessments of existing research, identifying knowledge gaps and future research directions.
• Policy Briefs: 3,000–6,500 words, presenting substantive research or review evidence focused on policy outcomes, implications, and practical recommendations.
• Short Communications: 1,000–2,000 words, reporting concise research findings, methodological developments, or significant preliminary results.
• Commentaries: Concise, peer-reviewed contributions offering critical perspectives on current debates, research developments, or policy issues relevant to agricultural transformation.
• Special Issue Contributions: Manuscripts addressing the theme of a designated special issue. These must follow the same author guidelines and ethical standards as regular submissions.

Word limits generally refer to the main manuscript, excluding references, tables, and figures, unless otherwise specified. Authors should identify the appropriate manuscript category during submission.

3. Abstract and Keywords

Each manuscript must include an informative abstract of up to 250 words that clearly states the research purpose, approach or methodology, principal findings, and implications. For policy-oriented contributions, the abstract should highlight the main policy relevance or practical contribution.

Include 5–7 keywords that accurately represent the manuscript’s subject matter. Avoid overly broad terms and use established disciplinary terminology where appropriate.

4. Manuscript Preparation and Formatting

Manuscripts must be written in clear academic English and submitted in Microsoft Word or LaTeX format.

Please observe the following formatting requirements:

• Font: Times New Roman, 12-point.
• Line spacing: Double-spaced.
• Margins: One inch on all sides.
• Page numbers and continuous line numbering: Required.
• Referencing style: APA 7th edition.
• Measurements: Use the International System of Units (SI).
• Tables and figures: Number consecutively, provide descriptive titles or captions, and cite each in the text.
• Figures and images: Submit high-resolution files, preferably at least 300 dpi, where applicable.

Authors should check grammar, spelling, calculations, references, tables, figures, and supplementary materials before submission.

5. Submission Files and Manuscript Structure

Authors must upload the following files:

A. Title File

Include:

• Full manuscript title.
• Names of all authors.
• Institutional affiliations.
• Corresponding author's name and email address.
• Acknowledgements, where applicable.
• Funding and competing-interest information, if included in the title file or required by the submission system.

B. Anonymised Main Manuscript

Include:

• Title.
• Abstract and keywords.
• Introduction.
• Literature review or conceptual background, as appropriate.
• Materials and methods or research methodology.
• Results and discussion.
• Conclusion and policy implications, where relevant.
• References.
• Tables, figures, captions, and supplementary material, as appropriate.

The main manuscript must not contain author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, or other information that directly identifies the authors. Authors must also remove identifying information from document properties and metadata, where possible, to support double-blind peer review.

The structure may be adapted to suit the manuscript category and disciplinary conventions, provided the research question, methods, evidence, findings, and contribution are clearly presented.

6. Required Ethical and Disclosure Statements

All submissions must include the following statements, as applicable. Authors must complete the corresponding declarations in the OJS submission process and include the relevant statements in the manuscript, normally before the references.

6.1 Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, including farmer, household, consumer, retailer, or other stakeholder surveys and interviews, must comply with applicable ethical requirements. Authors must identify the approving ethics committee or institutional review board and provide the approval reference where applicable.

Authors must state whether informed consent was obtained from participants and explain the consent procedure where relevant. Where formal ethics approval was not required or was waived, the manuscript must explain the basis for that determination. Research involving animals or sensitive personal data must also document relevant ethical approvals, permissions, and safeguards.

6.2 Funding Statement

Authors must disclose all financial support received for the research and manuscript, including funding organisations and grant or project numbers where applicable. The statement should indicate the funder's role in the study, if any.

If no specific funding was received, include: “This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

6.3 Competing Interests

All authors must disclose financial, institutional, professional, personal, or other interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence the research or its interpretation.

If no competing interests exist, include: “The authors declare no competing interests.”

6.4 Data Availability Statement

Authors must explain whether the data supporting the findings are publicly available, available on reasonable request, restricted for ethical or legal reasons, or not applicable. Where data are deposited in a repository, provide the repository name and a persistent identifier or working link, where available.

Any restrictions on sharing data must be explained. Data availability statements must be accurate and must respect participant confidentiality, informed-consent conditions, and applicable legal or ethical requirements.

6.5 Author Contribution Statement

All submissions must include a statement describing each author's contribution to the research and manuscript. Contributions may include conceptualisation, methodology, data collection, formal analysis, investigation, writing, review and editing, supervision, or funding acquisition.

All listed authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission. Authorship must reflect genuine scholarly contributions; gift, ghost, or purchased authorship is not permitted.

7. Originality, Permissions, and Research Integrity

Submissions must be original, must not have been published previously in substantially the same form, and must not be under consideration by another journal. Authors must disclose related manuscripts or overlapping publications where relevant.

AgriPaT may screen submissions using similarity-detection software and may request supporting information concerning research methods, data, authorship, permissions, or ethical compliance.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted figures, photographs, tables, instruments, or other third-party material. All sources must be properly acknowledged.

The use of generative artificial intelligence or other automated tools must comply with AgriPaT’s applicable publication-ethics requirements. Such tools must not be credited as authors, and authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and proper attribution of their work.

8. Peer Review and Editorial Decisions

AgriPaT operates a double-blind peer-review process. Submissions undergo an initial editorial screening for scope, originality, methodological quality, relevance, and ethical compliance. Manuscripts proceeding to external review are normally assessed by at least two independent reviewers.

Authors should ensure that their main manuscript is anonymised and that all required declarations are complete. Editorial decisions may include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection. Authors asked to revise a manuscript should provide a point-by-point response to reviewers’ and editors’ comments.

The anticipated review period is approximately 4–8 weeks, although actual timelines may vary depending on reviewer availability, manuscript complexity, and revision requirements.

The journal’s Peer Review and Reviewer Policy and Ethics, Integrity & Retraction Policy govern the handling of conflicts of interest, complaints, research misconduct, corrections, and retractions.

9. Article Processing Charges (APCs)

AgriPaT is an open-access journal. Published articles are freely accessible to readers worldwide. There are no submission or manuscript-handling charges.

For manuscripts accepted after successful peer review, the current APC schedule is:

• Pakistani authors: PKR 12,000 per accepted article.
• International authors: USD 50 per accepted article.

Authors facing genuine financial constraints may request partial or full APC relief at the time of submission. Requests are assessed at the publisher’s discretion and are not guaranteed. The applicable APC, waiver arrangements, and any subsequent changes are published on the AgriPaT Article Processing Charges page. Payment is not a guarantee of acceptance; all manuscripts remain subject to editorial assessment and peer review.

AgriPaT publishes continuously: each article is published online as soon as it is ready, with its own DOI and publication date. Articles are grouped into bimonthly issues (6 issues a year); the issue date is the date the issue closes.

10. Copyright and Open Access

Authors retain copyright of their work. Upon acceptance, authors grant AgriPaT a non-exclusive licence to publish and distribute the article. Published articles are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0).

For full terms concerning copyright ownership, author rights, licensing, and reuse, please consult the journal’s Copyright Notice.

11. How to Submit

All manuscripts must be submitted through the AgriPaT online submission system. Authors must register or log in, select the appropriate manuscript category, complete the required metadata and declarations, and upload the title file and anonymised main manuscript.

Submit your manuscript to AgriPaT

A cover letter should briefly explain the manuscript’s originality, contribution, relevance to AgriPaT’s aims and scope, and policy or practical significance.

For special issue submissions, authors must select the relevant special issue from the available options during the OJS submission process.