Publication Ethics

The International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science is committed to promoting and safeguarding ethical conduct at every stage of the research and publication process. The advancement of agriculture and food science depends upon the honesty and integrity of all who conduct, review, edit, and publish scholarly work. This statement sets out the ethical responsibilities of the parties involved in publication with the journal. It is founded upon the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and all authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with these standards.

1. Duties of the Editors

The editors are responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal are accepted for publication. Editorial decisions are based upon the scholarly merit of the work — its originality, validity, clarity, and relevance to the scope of the journal — and are reached without regard to the race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, nationality, seniority, or institutional affiliation of the authors. Editors evaluate manuscripts fairly and are guided in contested cases by the flowcharts and guidance published by COPE.

Editors and editorial staff must treat every submitted manuscript as a confidential document and must not disclose information about it to anyone other than the corresponding author, the reviewers, and the publisher, as required. Unpublished material disclosed in a submission must not be used by an editor in his or her own research without the written consent of the author. An editor who has a conflict of interest in respect of a manuscript — whether arising from competition, collaboration, or another relationship with any of the authors or institutions concerned — must decline to handle it and arrange for it to be dealt with by another member of the editorial team.

2. Duties of Authors

Authors must ensure that the work reported is original, that it has been carried out in accordance with recognised ethical standards, and that it is presented honestly and in full. In particular:

• Originality and acknowledgement: the work must be entirely the authors’ own; where the work or words of others are used, they must be appropriately cited, in accordance with the journal’s plagiarism policy.
• Data integrity and reporting: authors are responsible for the accuracy of the data presented. Fabrication, falsification, and inappropriate manipulation of data are serious forms of misconduct. Authors should retain their raw data and be prepared to provide it for editorial review on reasonable request, and should report their results in full, including findings that do not support their hypotheses.
• Originality of submission: the manuscript must not have been published previously, in whole or in substantial part, and must not be under consideration by any other journal. Concurrent submission to more than one journal constitutes unethical conduct.
• Disclosure and conflicts of interest: all sources of financial support for the work, and any financial or personal relationships that might be perceived to influence it, must be disclosed at the time of submission.
• Authorship: only those who satisfy the criteria for authorship should be listed as authors (see Section 7).
• Errors in published work: an author who discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his or her own published work is obliged to notify the editor promptly and to cooperate in the correction or retraction of the paper.

3. Peer Review and the Duties of Reviewers

The International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science operates a double-blind peer review system, under which the identities of the authors and of the reviewers are withheld from one another throughout the review process. This minimises the scope for bias and ensures that a manuscript is judged solely upon its scientific merit. Manuscripts that pass initial editorial screening for scope and quality are assigned to reviewers having relevant expertise in the subject matter, who assess the originality, scientific validity, methodological rigour, and significance of the work, and whose comments and recommendations inform the editorial decision.

Peer review assists the editors in reaching editorial decisions and, through the communication of reviewers’ comments to authors, may also assist authors in improving their manuscripts. Reviewers are asked to observe the following principles:

• Confidentiality: manuscripts received for review are confidential documents and must not be shown to, or discussed with, others except as authorised by the editor.
• Objectivity: reviews should be conducted objectively and their conclusions supported by argument; personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate.
• Promptness: a reviewer who feels unqualified to assess a manuscript, or who is unable to do so within the time proposed, should notify the editor and withdraw from the process.
• Acknowledgement of sources: reviewers should identify relevant published work that the authors have not cited, and should draw to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity between the manuscript and other published material of which they are aware.
• Disclosure and conflicts of interest: privileged information obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should decline to assess manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest.

4. Duties of the Publisher

The publisher supports the editors in the discharge of their responsibilities and is committed to ensuring that editorial decisions remain independent of commercial considerations. The publisher maintains the journal’s digital archive and works to preserve the integrity and continued availability of the published record. In cases of alleged or proven misconduct, the publisher acts together with the editors to address the matter appropriately, including the publication of corrections, clarifications, retractions, and expressions of concern where these are warranted.

5. Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest exists where considerations such as financial gain, personal relationships, or professional rivalry could be perceived to influence, or could actually influence, the conduct of the research or its assessment. Authors must disclose all such interests, together with the sources of funding for the research, at the time of submission. Reviewers and editors are required to declare any conflict of interest and to withdraw from the handling or assessment of a manuscript where such a conflict exists. Disclosure enables readers to evaluate the work in its proper context and sustains confidence in the published record.

6. Ethics in Research Involving Human Participants and Animals

Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the principles of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Such research must have received the approval of an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board before it was undertaken, and authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants, or from their legal guardians, and that the privacy and confidentiality of participants have been protected. Where identifying information about individuals is included, written consent for its publication must have been obtained.

Where the research reported involves animals, it must comply with the applicable national legislation and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals, and must have been approved by the appropriate institutional animal ethics committee before the work was undertaken — in India, an Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) constituted in accordance with the rules of the Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA, formerly CPCSEA), Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Where live animals are used, authors are encouraged to report the work in accordance with the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0 (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments), issued by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs), which set out the minimum information that should be reported concerning study design, sample size, inclusion and exclusion criteria, randomisation, blinding, outcome measures, statistical methods, and the housing and husbandry of the animals used. The journal will not consider work that has been conducted without appropriate ethical oversight, or that gives rise to concern about the welfare of human or animal subjects. A statement of ethical approval, giving the name of the approving body and the reference number where applicable, should be included in the manuscript.

7. Authorship and Contributorship

The journal follows the authorship criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authorship confers both credit and responsibility, and should be reserved for those who have made a genuine intellectual contribution to the work. To qualify for authorship an individual should satisfy all of the following conditions:

• substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of the data;
• drafting the work, or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
• final approval of the version to be published; and
• agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions relating to the accuracy or integrity of any part of it are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Those who have contributed to the work but do not meet all four criteria should be named in the acknowledgements rather than listed as authors. Honorary, guest, and ghost authorship are unacceptable. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all named authors qualify for authorship, that all have approved the final manuscript, and that any change to the authorship of a submitted or published paper is made only with the written agreement of all authors, in accordance with COPE guidance.

8. Data Integrity and Availability

The credibility of published research rests upon the accuracy and reliability of the data on which it is based. Authors bear primary responsibility for ensuring that the data reported are accurate, complete, and verifiable, and should describe clearly any processing or transformation that has been applied to them. Where questions arise concerning the integrity of the data in a submitted or published paper, authors may be asked to provide the underlying datasets to the editorial board for examination. Failure to do so, or the discovery of fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation, will result in rejection of the manuscript or retraction of the published article.

9. Misconduct, Corrections, and Retractions

Allegations of research or publication misconduct — including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, redundant publication, improper attribution of authorship, and undisclosed conflicts of interest — are taken seriously and are investigated thoroughly and impartially, following the flowcharts and guidance of COPE. Authors are given the opportunity to respond to any allegation. Where the integrity of the published record so requires, the journal will publish a correction, a retraction, or an expression of concern, as the circumstances demand. Retraction is reserved for cases in which the findings are shown to be unreliable or the work is found to constitute misconduct.

10. Complaints and Appeals

Authors who wish to appeal against an editorial decision, or who have a complaint concerning any aspect of the handling of their manuscript or the conduct of the journal, may write to the editorial office setting out the grounds of the appeal or complaint. Such matters are considered by the editors, who may seek further advice where appropriate, and a reasoned response is provided to the author. Complaints are handled in accordance with the principles recommended by COPE.

11. Guidelines and Standards Followed by the Journal

The International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science observes the standards and recommendations of the following organisations, and authors, reviewers, and readers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with them:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) — leadership and practical resources on publication ethics for all those engaged in scholarly publishing. https://publicationethics.org/
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) — recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work, including the criteria for authorship. https://www.icmje.org/
• World Medical Association — Declaration of Helsinki — the statement of ethical principles for research involving human participants. https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki/
• Committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA), Government of India — the statutory framework governing the use of animals in research in India. https://ccsea.gov.in/
• ARRIVE Guidelines 2.0 (NC3Rs) — the reporting checklist for research involving live animals. https://arriveguidelines.org/
• Council of Science Editors (CSE) — promotes excellence and ethical practice in the communication of scientific information. https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/
• European Association of Science Editors (EASE) — guidance for authors and editors on the clear and accurate reporting of scientific work. https://ease.org.uk/

Contact Us

Any query concerning this Publication Ethics statement, any allegation of misconduct, or any appeal or complaint may be addressed to the editorial office:

Editorial Office — International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.agriculturaljournals.com

P-ISSN / E-ISSN: 2664-844X / 2664-8458

Publisher: Comprehensive Publications

Postal Address: 3, H-34, Sector 3, Rohini, Delhi-110085, India

Telephone: +91-9711224068

Toll Free: 1800-1234070

Working Hours: 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM (IST), Monday to Saturday