The African Journal of Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (AJSAFS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, international multidisciplinary journal dedicated to advancing research, innovation and knowledge sharing on sustainable agriculture and food systems across Africa and beyond.
The journal was launched to address Africa’s distinctive agricultural challenges and opportunities: climate variability, soil and water stress, post-harvest loss, uneven market access, and the need to value both scientific and indigenous knowledge. AJSAFS provides a platform for scholars, practitioners, policymakers and community stakeholders to examine integrated approaches that strengthen food security, environmental resilience, economic viability and social equity.
Vision
To be a trusted global platform that connects rigorous research on sustainable agriculture and food systems with practice and policy in Africa and beyond.
Mission
To publish and disseminate innovative, context-specific knowledge that improves food security, environmental sustainability, economic viability and social inclusion, including solutions grounded in indigenous knowledge.
Aims
The journal aims to:
Advance agroecology, soil health, integrated pest management, climate-resilient varieties and precision agriculture for sustainable crop and livestock production.
Support value chains, post-harvest technologies, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, urban and peri-urban farming, and circular-economy models that transform food systems.
Foster biodiversity conservation, water resource management, agroforestry, carbon sequestration, and climate adaptation and mitigation.
Empower smallholders and advance gender and youth inclusion, rural development, governance, financing and market access.
Drive biotechnology, digital agriculture, renewable energy in farming, and the integration of indigenous knowledge.
Address food security, nutrition, agricultural education and extension, risk management, and sustainable development in drylands, peri-urban areas and conflict-affected or marginal settings.
Out of scope
Manuscripts that have no clear link to agriculture, food systems, rural livelihoods or natural-resource management in food production will usually be declined at screening. Purely commercial promotional material is not accepted.
What we publish
Original research articles (typically 5,000–8,000 words)
Review articles that synthesise a field and identify research or policy gaps
Case studies of programmes, farms, value chains or policy interventions
Short communications on timely methods, datasets or field findings
Manuscripts may be theoretical, empirical or applied. Work that is methodologically sound and relevant to African food systems is especially welcome, including comparative studies that place African experience in a wider context.
Publication model
AJSAFS is an open-access journal. Accepted articles are published online and may be read and downloaded without a subscription. The journal uses double-blind peer review. Publication frequency will be announced with Volume 1. Articles are published in English.
Publisher
AJSAFS is published by EmpiricalOpen Publishers.
Contact
Editorial and general enquiries: support@ajsafs.org
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
All submissions must meet the following requirements.
This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled.
Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.
Author Guidelines
Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.
Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.
An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.
The African Journal of Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (AJSAFS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, international multidisciplinary journal dedicated to advancing research, innovation, and knowledge dissemination in sustainable agriculture and food systems across Africa and beyond.
Our Vision
Our vision is to create a global platform that bridges the gap between sustainable agriculture and food systems research and real-world applications in Africa and beyond. We aim to inspire, engage, and challenge our readers and contributors to look beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries and think critically about the role of sustainable agriculture and food systems in addressing contemporary societal issues.
Our Mission
Our mission is to disseminate innovative, context-specific knowledge that enhances food security, environmental sustainability, economic viability, and social inclusion through evidence-based solutions and indigenous knowledge.
Our Aims
promotes agroecology, soil health, integrated pest management, climate‑resilient varieties, and precision agriculture to advance sustainable crop and livestock production.
supports value chains, post‑harvest technologies, nutrition‑sensitive agriculture, urban and peri‑urban farming, and circular economy models to transform food systems.
fosters biodiversity conservation, water resource management, agroforestry, carbon sequestration, and climate adaptation and mitigation strategies to strengthen environmental sustainability.
empowers smallholders, advances gender and youth inclusion, supports rural development, and enhances governance, financing, and market access in food systems.
drives biotechnology, digital agriculture, renewable energy in farming, and indigenous knowledge integration to deliver technological and innovative solutions.
addresses food security, nutrition, agricultural education and extension, risk management, and sustainable development in conflict‑prone or marginal areas.
Manuscript Preparation
Language: All manuscripts must be in English. Authors whose first language is not English may want to have their manuscript professionally edited before submission to improve readability.
Word Processing Formats: Acceptable formats for your manuscript are Word (DOC, DOCX).
Article Length: Articles should be between 5000 and 8000 words in length. This includes all text, for example, the structured abstract, references, all text in tables, and figures and appendices.
Abstract: All articles must have a structured abstract that states in 250 words or fewer the purpose, methodology, findings, originality, and research implications of the study.
Keywords: Please provide up to 10 keywords on the title page which encapsulate the principal topics of the paper.
Citations and References: Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts conform to the journal citation style. All references must be complete and accurate.
Figures and Tables: Include all figures and tables in the manuscript PDF file. Figures and tables should not be submitted in separate files.
Submission Process
Submission: Manuscripts should be submitted online. The submission system will prompt you to enter the necessary information about your manuscript.
Peer Review: The journal operates a double-blind peer review process. Authors must ensure that their names and affiliations do not appear anywhere in the manuscript.
Revision: Based on the feedback received from the reviewers, authors may be required to revise their manuscripts.
Acceptance and Publication: Authors will be asked to complete a ‘Journal Publishing Agreement.
Review Process
African Journal of Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (AJSAFS) follows a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure the highest standards of academic integrity. Here’s a step-by-step overview of our review process:
Initial Screening: All submissions undergo an initial screening to check for completeness, adherence to our submission guidelines, and overall fit with the journal’s scope.
Double-Blind Peer Review: If a manuscript passes the initial screening, it is sent to at least two independent reviewers in the relevant field. The identities of both the authors and reviewers are kept confidential to ensure an unbiased review process.
Review Reports: Reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript based on its originality, methodological soundness, and the relevance and clarity of the presentation. They provide a detailed report with comments for the author and recommendations for the editor.
Author Revisions: Authors may be asked to revise their manuscript based on the reviewers' feedback. We encourage authors to revise and resubmit their manuscript, addressing the reviewers’ comments.
Final Decision: The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on whether to accept or reject a manuscript, considering the reviewers’ comments and the manuscript’s contribution to the field.
Publication: Upon acceptance, the manuscript is published online in the next available issue of the journal.
We are committed to providing constructive feedback and a fair, unbiased evaluation of all submissions.
Copyright Notice
AJSAFS operates under the following copyright policy:
Author’s Rights: As an author, you retain the copyright to your work. You also retain the right to use your article in the following ways, as long as you do not sell it or give it away in ways that would conflict with our commercial business interests:
Use it for personal use and internal institutional use.
Make copies of the article for educational purposes.
Use it as part of a lecture or presentation.
Use it in a subsequent compilation of your works.
Extend the article into book-length form.
Use it for other scholarly and professional activities.
Journal’s Rights: Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a ‘Journal Publishing Agreement’. Under this agreement, authors grant the AJSAFS the exclusive right to publish and distribute their article, and to create adaptations and extracts from the article, in all formats and media worldwide.
Open Access: All articles published by the AJSAFS are made freely available online immediately upon publication, without subscription charges or registration barriers. Authors or their institutions pay an article publication charge to cover the costs of publishing.
