About the Journal

The International Journal of Agriculture and Development Studies (IJADS) is a scholarly journal published jointly by the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.

The Journal provides a platform for the publication and dissemination of original and high-quality research, reviews and scholarly contributions in agriculture and development. It particularly welcomes studies that contribute to agricultural development, food and nutrition security, rural transformation, sustainable livelihoods, agricultural innovation, climate resilience and sustainable development.

IJADS has an international outlook and welcomes contributions from researchers, academics, development practitioners and other scholars from Nigeria and other parts of the world.

The Editorial Board comprises scholars selected from relevant disciplines and specializations in agriculture and development studies.

AIMS AND SCOPE

The International Journal of Agriculture and Development Studies aims to promote the generation, exchange and dissemination of scientific knowledge relevant to agricultural and rural development.

The Journal welcomes manuscripts in areas including, but not limited to:

  • Agricultural economics and policy;
  • Agricultural extension and rural development;
  • Agribusiness and agricultural value chains;
  • Agricultural marketing and finance;
  • Crop production and protection;
  • Animal production and health;
  • Fisheries and aquaculture;
  • Forestry and wildlife management;
  • Food science, nutrition and food security;
  • Agricultural engineering and mechanisation;
  • Soil and environmental sciences;
  • Climate change and climate-smart agriculture;
  • Natural resource management;
  • Gender, youth and social inclusion in agriculture;
  • Rural livelihoods and community development;
  • Agricultural innovation and technology adoption;
  • Digital agriculture and agricultural information systems;
  • Sustainable agriculture and circular bioeconomy; and
  • Other areas relevant to agriculture and development.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

General Requirements

Manuscripts submitted to IJADS should constitute original scholarly work that has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Simultaneous or parallel submission of the same manuscript to another journal is not permitted.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the information, data, citations and references contained in their manuscripts.

Manuscripts should be written in clear and concise English and should be carefully proofread before submission.

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically as a Microsoft Word document to:

Email: eksuaeejournal@gmail.com

Journal website: ijads.eksu.edu.ng

1.0 TITLE AND AUTHOR INFORMATION

The title of the manuscript should be concise, informative and accurately reflect the content of the study. Unnecessary words and abbreviations should be avoided.

Authors' names should be presented consistently, followed by their institutional affiliations.

Where authors have different affiliations, appropriate superscript numbers should be used to link each author to the relevant institution.

The corresponding author should be clearly identified and should provide a functional email address and telephone number for editorial communication.

The telephone number is intended primarily for communication with the Editorial Office and need not necessarily appear in the published article.

2.0 ABSTRACT

The abstract should be concise, informative and not exceed 300 words.

The abstract should provide sufficient information on the:

  • background or purpose of the study;
  • methodology;
  • major findings; and
  • principal conclusion or implication.

The abstract may be structured or unstructured, depending on the nature of the manuscript. However, authors should avoid citations, undefined abbreviations and unnecessary background information in the abstract.

Keywords

Authors should provide four to six keywords or key phrases immediately after the abstract.

Keywords should adequately represent the major concepts of the study and, as much as possible, should not merely repeat words already contained in the title.

3.0 INTRODUCTION

The Introduction should provide sufficient background and context for the study without being unnecessarily lengthy.

It should:

  • establish the relevance of the subject;
  • briefly review pertinent literature;
  • clearly identify the research problem;
  • establish the knowledge or research gap;
  • explain the significance of the study; and
  • clearly state the objective(s), research question(s) or hypothesis(es), as appropriate.

Authors should ensure that the literature cited is relevant and reasonably current.

4.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Materials and Methods section should provide sufficient information to enable readers to understand and, where appropriate, replicate the study.

Depending on the nature of the research, this section should describe relevant aspects such as:

  • research or experimental design;
  • study area;
  • study population;
  • sampling procedure;
  • sample size and its determination;
  • experimental treatments and replication;
  • data collection procedures;
  • research instruments;
  • measurement of variables;
  • laboratory or field procedures;
  • validity and reliability procedures, where applicable;
  • statistical or analytical techniques; and
  • ethical considerations, where applicable.

Standard procedures may be cited appropriately, while modifications to established procedures should be clearly described.

Subsections may be numbered 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, and so forth, as necessary.

5.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results should be presented clearly, logically and in accordance with the objectives or hypotheses of the study.

Results and Discussion may be presented as a combined section or as separate sections where this is more appropriate to the nature of the study.

The Discussion should interpret the major findings rather than merely repeat the results. Findings should, where appropriate, be compared with relevant previous studies, and agreements, differences and possible explanations should be discussed.

The implications of the findings for agricultural science, policy, practice or development should be highlighted where appropriate.

Tables

Tables should:

  • be used only where they improve the presentation and understanding of the results;
  • be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are cited in the text;
  • have brief but descriptive titles;
  • clearly state relevant units of measurement;
  • contain appropriate headings for rows and columns;
  • include explanatory notes where necessary; and
  • be cited appropriately in the manuscript.

Information presented in tables should not be unnecessarily repeated in the text.

Tables should be prepared in editable Microsoft Word table format or, where necessary, in Microsoft Excel. Tables should not be submitted solely as images.

Figures and Graphics

Figures, charts, photographs and other graphics should be of high quality and suitable for publication.

Figures should:

  • be numbered consecutively;
  • have concise and descriptive captions;
  • be appropriately cited in the manuscript; and
  • clearly indicate relevant units, symbols and abbreviations.

Figures and graphics may be prepared in appropriate formats such as JPEG, TIFF, GIF or PowerPoint, provided that they are of adequate quality for publication.

6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Conclusion should be based directly on the major findings of the study and should address the stated objectives.

It should clearly communicate the principal contribution and implications of the study without unnecessarily repeating the Results and Discussion.

Recommendations may be presented where appropriate and should arise directly from the findings of the study.

Authors should avoid recommendations that are not supported by the evidence presented in the manuscript.

7.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Authors may acknowledge individuals, institutions or organisations that contributed significantly to the research but do not qualify for authorship.

Sources of financial or material support should also be acknowledged where applicable.

8.0 FUNDING

Authors should disclose all sources of financial support received for the research.

Where the study received no specific funding, this may be stated as:

“The authors received no specific funding for this study.”

9.0 CONFLICT OF INTEREST

All authors should disclose any financial, professional or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

Where no conflict of interest exists, authors may state:

“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

10.0 AUTHORSHIP AND AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Authorship should be restricted to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis or interpretation of the study and who accept responsibility for the published work.

All listed authors should have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript before submission.

Gift, honorary or guest authorship is not acceptable.

Where appropriate, the specific contributions of individual authors may be stated.

11.0 RESEARCH ETHICS

Research involving human participants, animals or other subjects requiring ethical oversight should comply with relevant institutional, national and international ethical requirements.

Where ethical approval was required, authors should provide the name of the approving institution or committee and, where applicable, the approval or reference number.

For studies involving human participants, appropriate informed consent procedures should be followed where applicable.

12.0 PUBLICATION ETHICS AND ORIGINALITY

IJADS is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity and publication ethics.

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal must be original. Plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate publication, inappropriate manipulation of research results and other forms of research misconduct are unacceptable.

Authors must appropriately acknowledge and cite the work of others.

The Editorial Office reserves the right to screen submitted manuscripts for originality and to reject or withdraw manuscripts where serious ethical concerns or publication misconduct are identified.

13.0 USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AI-ASSISTED TOOLS

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity and scholarly content of manuscripts submitted to IJADS.

Generative artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for published work.

Where generative AI or AI-assisted tools have been used substantially in manuscript preparation, data analysis or other aspects of the research process, such use should be appropriately disclosed.

Authors must verify the accuracy of all AI-assisted content, particularly factual statements, citations and references.

The use of artificial intelligence does not remove the authors' responsibility for complying with the Journal's policies on originality, plagiarism, confidentiality and research integrity.

14.0 PEER-REVIEW PROCESS

Manuscripts submitted to IJADS will undergo an initial editorial assessment to determine their relevance to the Journal's scope, compliance with submission requirements and general scholarly quality.

Manuscripts considered suitable will be subjected to independent peer review by experts in the relevant field.

Reviewers will assess manuscripts on the basis of originality, methodological soundness, quality of analysis, significance of findings, clarity of presentation and contribution to knowledge.

Authors may be required to revise their manuscripts in response to reviewers' and editors' comments.

The final decision to accept or reject a manuscript rests with the Editor-in-Chief based on the reviewers' reports and editorial assessment.

Payment of any manuscript processing or publication fee does not guarantee acceptance or publication.

15.0 REFERENCES

References should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (APA 7th edition).

References should be listed alphabetically by the surname of the first author at the end of the manuscript.

Authors should ensure that:

  • every source cited in the text appears in the reference list;
  • every source included in the reference list is cited in the text;
  • authors' names and publication years are consistent between the text and reference list;
  • journal titles and volume numbers are appropriately italicised;
  • Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are provided where available; and
  • references are complete and accurate.