Call for Proposals: Special Issues

Call for Proposals: Special Issues

The Journal of Agribusiness and Social Sciences (JASS) invites proposals for thematic Special Issues addressing significant and emerging questions in agribusiness, agricultural economics, rural development, social sciences, agricultural markets, livelihoods, institutions, and sustainable development.

Special Issues provide an opportunity to bring together researchers from different disciplines around a focused theme and to develop a comprehensive body of scholarship on an important contemporary issue. JASS particularly welcomes proposals that connect economic, business, social, institutional, environmental, and policy perspectives and that have relevance for agricultural and rural economies.

Themes of Interest

Special Issue proposals may address, but are not limited to:

Agribusiness and Markets

  • Agribusiness management and entrepreneurship
  • Agricultural marketing and value chains
  • Agricultural markets and price systems
  • Agricultural trade and globalization
  • Cooperatives and producer organizations
  • Contract farming and institutional arrangements
  • Agribusiness innovation and business models
  • Agricultural competitiveness

Agricultural Economics and Finance

  • Agricultural economics
  • Farm management and profitability
  • Agricultural productivity and efficiency
  • Rural finance and financial inclusion
  • Agricultural insurance and risk management
  • Digital finance and financial technologies
  • Agricultural investment and economic transformation

Rural Development and Society

  • Rural development and livelihoods
  • Rural poverty and inequality
  • Rural employment and labour markets
  • Migration and rural transformation
  • Gender and youth in agriculture
  • Social inclusion and community development
  • Rural institutions and governance
  • Social capital and collective action

Sustainability and Emerging Challenges

  • Climate change and rural economies
  • Climate adaptation and resilience
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Food security and food systems
  • Natural-resource management
  • Technology adoption and innovation
  • Digital agriculture
  • Environmental and social sustainability
  • Emerging challenges in agribusiness and rural societies

Proposals that bring together different disciplinary perspectives or examine emerging issues from comparative or international perspectives are especially encouraged.

Who Can Propose a Special Issue?

Proposals may be submitted by:

  • Academics and researchers
  • Professors and senior scholars
  • Early-career researchers with relevant expertise
  • Research institutes and think tanks
  • Development organizations
  • Interdisciplinary research groups
  • International research collaborations
  • Organizers of academic conferences or research projects

Each proposal should identify at least one suitably qualified Guest Editor or Guest Editorial Team.

What Should a Proposal Include?

A proposal should normally contain:

  1. Proposed Special Issue title
  2. Description of the theme
  3. Background and rationale
  4. Significance and timeliness
  5. Objectives
  6. Key research questions or thematic areas
  7. Relationship to JASS's aims and scope
  8. Names and affiliations of proposed Guest Editors
  9. Short biographies of Guest Editors
  10. Potential contributing authors, if known
  11. Potential manuscript topics or provisional titles
  12. Expected number of submissions
  13. Proposed timeline
  14. Relevant conference, project, institutional, or collaborative background, where applicable

Responsibilities of Guest Editors

Guest Editors are expected to:

  • Develop the intellectual framework of the Special Issue;
  • Promote the Call for Papers among relevant scholarly communities;
  • Encourage submissions from qualified researchers;
  • Assist with the identification of suitable reviewers;
  • Support rigorous and impartial peer review;
  • Maintain confidentiality and avoid conflicts of interest;
  • Communicate with authors and reviewers as required;
  • Work in coordination with the JASS editorial team; and
  • Contribute to the coherence and scholarly quality of the completed Special Issue.

All manuscripts remain subject to JASS's normal editorial procedures, publication ethics requirements, and double-blind peer-review process.

Guest Editors cannot guarantee publication or make independent final decisions that override the journal's editorial and peer-review procedures.

What Makes a Strong Special Issue Proposal?

JASS particularly values proposals that:

  • Address an important contemporary issue;
  • Have a clearly defined and coherent theme;
  • Bring together complementary perspectives;
  • Have strong potential to attract quality manuscripts;
  • Include contributors from diverse institutions or geographical regions;
  • Generate meaningful theoretical, empirical, or policy insights; and
  • Contribute to current debates in agribusiness, agricultural economics, rural development, and social sciences.

Submit a Special Issue Proposal by email to jass@ageconfrontiers.com 

Special Issue proposals may be submitted throughout the year to the JASS Editorial Office.

Proposals will be evaluated for their relevance, originality, scholarly significance, feasibility, potential contribution, and alignment with the journal's scope.

JASS welcomes Special Issue proposals that bring together diverse perspectives and advance knowledge for more productive, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agricultural and rural systems.