Aims and scope

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems publishes original research on biological, physical, or social science aspects of alternative and renewable agriculture and food systems. We particularly welcome multidisciplinary studies, but papers from a specific discipline are also invited. However, since RAF readership is much broader than for a single-discipline journal, highly specialized terminology should be explained or avoided. The significance of a statement, or the reasoning behind a conclusion, may have to be spelled out more than in a more specialized journal.

Article categories

We publish articles in the following categories. Please note that an article for RAFS should be understandable to readers from a wide range of backgrounds, not just people in the authors' speciality.

Research Papers

These are reports of original research that all subject to peer review, with the customary standards applying: relevance, originality, significance, validity, and clarity.

Review Articles

We encourage you to submit on any subject relevant to RAFS.

Preliminary Reports

Preliminary reports on highly innovative systems is a category that is not found in some journals but which we consider appropriate for renewable agricultural systems. It covers areas about which very little research has been done before, but which promise to be very exciting. The data presented in such a paper can be less complete than in a conventional research paper. However, please note that such a paper should not be a report on work in progress on a familiar topic.

From the Field

The "From the Field" paper type includes annotated field reports of on-going research of renewable agriculture projects around the world. These reports are meant to provide an outlet for research underway in the field, and will be reviewed as any other manuscript submitted to the Journal, but can be more informal in content. They can also be linked to visual or other supplementary content that will be published online only through the Journal’s website.

Fora

These are short pieces that take a stand on a current policy issue. Usually a forummakes just one main point so it can argue the case convincingly in about one journal page. The aim of a forum article is to stimulate thinking and discussion. On receipt of a forum article, the Forum Editor sends the article to two reviewers whose responses will be published with the forum.

Commentaries

Commentaries can be of different types. The first can be a critical challenge to an article published in the Journal, arguing for a position other than that taken in the initial article; an elaboration or extension of the position taken in an article published by the Journal, pushing the argument further; or an application of a theoretical perspective that sheds light on the issues addressed in a paper published in the Journal or the author’s experience applying the issues addressed in the article.

Resource Reviews

We welcome Resource Reviews. These are not limited to books, but may also include models, tutorials, videos etc.

Specific article type preparation instructions

For all manuscript types please ensure the manuscript document contains: all authors names, affiliations, corresponding author information including email address, abstract and keywords.  

Research papers, Review articles, and Preliminary reports

All submissions should be double-spaced with line numbers. 

Papers should be laid out as follows:

• An abstract of 200-400 words, suitable for readers from a broad range of disciplines. It should avoid highly specialised terminology that might be appropriate for a single-discipline journal. Take particular care that the significance of the word is made clear, even to readers from a different field.
• Subject matter keywords suitable for use in scientific indexing 
• Text divided into appropriate headings; please limit the length of manuscript to 7,500 words or less (excluding Abstract, references, tables and figures).  Required statements (see below) should be included before References. Authors will be asked for a word count during the submission process. Additional material may be published as Supplementary Material. Please see guidelines here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/publishing-partners/journal-publishing-partnerships/journals-supplementary-materials-guidelines
• References (see information about presenting references below) 
• Tables, either on a separate sheet at the end of the manuscript or in a separate file. Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and every table should be mentioned at least once.
• Illustrations as separate files containing no text. Captions to illustrations should be supplied on a separate sheet at the end of the main manuscript.  

From the Field papers

From the Field papers should be in the form of a brief report, about 3,000 words (excluding abstract, references, figures and tables). A brief summary/abstract up to 150 words should be included. There should be a maximum number of 25 references and a maximum of 5 key words. Up to 2 in-text illustrations (figures, tables) can be included with others being linked as supplementary files. (Please see below for Supplementary File instructions)

We encourage the publication of supporting photos, images, tables, etc. which can be published online and linked to the paper as Supplementary File.  These materials can be cited within the text of the paper, but the paper must stand on its own without the supplementary materials.

Forum and Commentaries

Papers should be short, about 2000 words (excluding abstract, references, figures and tables), and include a brief summary of up to 150 words in place of an abstract. Cite only works absolutely necessary to support your point. Use a short title that emphasizes the key message.

The second form of commentary is more editorial in nature and covers an issue that is relevant to the Journal's scope.  This should be formatted as a review article, described above. 

Acceptance or rejection of the commentary is at the discretion of the Editor-in-chief. In most instances, commentaries will be peer reviewed. Also, the Editor-in-chief may request or allow an author to respond to the commentary.

Guidance Applicable to All Papers

Please ensure that your files are uploaded in the following order:

For Original Submissions

1.    Author covering letter (this should be anonymous with no identifying information). It is recommended that authors submit the names and contact details (including e-mail addresses) of suggested referees in this cover letter (with no author identifying information). 

2.    Title Page containing all author contact information, their first and family name; their post at the time they did the work; their current appointments and qualifications; the name and address of the author to whom correspondence, proofs and offprints should be sent, together with email, telephone and fax numbers; a competing interests declaration. Include funding information and any acknowledgments on this title page.

3.    Manuscript file (anonymised) containing the title of the work, Abstract and Keywords followed by the main body of the paper (including required statements) prepared as per the instructions below

4.    Figure captions (mandatory if figures are included)

5.    Figures (one file per figure) in eps or tif format

6.    Tables as a single word document

7.    Any Supplementary Material

For Revised Submissions:

1.    Authors response to reviewers comments (this should be anonymous)

2.    Title Page containing all author contact information, their first and family name; their post at the time they did the work; their current appointments and qualifications; the name and address of the author to whom correspondence, proofs and offprints should be sent, together with email, telephone and fax numbers; a competing interests declaration. Include funding information and any acknowledgments on this title page.

3.    Tracked Changes Manuscript file (anonymised) containing the title of the work, Abstract and Keywords followed by the main body of the paper showing all additions and omissions.

4.    Figure captions (mandatory if figures are included)

5.    Figures (one file per figure) in eps or tif format.

6.    Tables as a single word document

7.    Any Supplementary Material

8.    A blank separator page which can be downloaded here 

9. Clean Manuscript file (anonymised) where all changes have been incorporated into the file and tracking has been turned off.

General guidance

Microsoft Word is the preferred software. No artwork should be included in text files. Any artwork should be in either TIF or EPS format, and saved as individual files per Figure. When preparing your paper:

·         For both the original and revised manuscripts, use line numbers and double line-spacing throughout; 

·         All pages must be numbered;

·         Use the minimum formatting;

·         Roman, bold and italic type can be used, but only one typeface and font;

·         Capitals should be used only where they are to appear in the finished text;

·         The text should be ranged left and unjustified, with hyphenation cancellation;

·         Indents, underlining and tabs should be avoided unless absolutely necessary;

·         Heading and paragraphs should be separated by two carriage returns;

·         Do not use footnotes;

·         There should only be one space between words and only one space after punctuation;

·         Avoid using more than three levels of heading;

·         Abbreviations should be kept to a minimum and must be clearly defined when used first time. Abbreviations should be typed with no full point;

·         Avoid excessive capitalization;

·         Use italics for emphasis sparingly;

·         For numbers, adopt a rule that all numbers under 10 should be written as words except when attached to a unit of quantity (e.g.1 mm or 3 kg), and that numbers of over 10 should be written as digits except at the beginning of a sentence.

Care should be taken that all statistical methods are relevant and that it is clear which methods were used. Any statistical tests should be reported as well as the p value.

Graphical Abstracts

A Graphical Abstract is a single image that summarises the main findings of a paper, allowing readers to gain quickly an overview and understanding of your work. Ideally, the graphical abstract should be created independently of the figures already in the paper but it could include a (simplified version of) an existing figure. Graphical abstracts are displayed at article level, and on the article landing page online. 

The graphical abstract should be submitted separately from the main paper at revised submission stage. Graphical abstracts should be clear and easy for the viewer to read, and should illustrate one main point only. Permission to reuse images should be sought by the authors before submitting,

We recommend that only TIFF, EPS or PDF formats are used for electronic artwork. Other non-preferred but usable formats are JPG, PPT and GIF files and images created in Microsoft Word. For further information about how to prepare your figures, including sizing and resolution requirements, please see our artwork guide. The image will be scaled to fit the appropriate space on Cambridge Core, so please ensure that any font used is clear to read, and that any text is included as part of the image file (although text should ideally be kept to a minimum). There is also no need to include the title ‘Graphical Abstract’ in your image.

References

RAFS uses format-neutral submission for original submissions, which means that authors do not need to format their article to journal style at this stage. We do ask however that your article is line-numbered and is in an easily readable layout, which will aid our Editors and Reviewers in reviewing your paper. Please note that revised manuscripts will be subject to full formatting requirements of the journal.

The Harvard (author-date) system should be used in the text and a complete list of References Cited given at the end of the article. For a citation of a work by more than two authors in the text, cite the first author's name followed by et al. (but the names of all of the authors should be given in the References section). Where several references are cited together they should be listed in rising date order. The References section should be in alphabetical order. Examples follow:

Arshad, M.A. and Coen, G.M. 1992. Characterization of soil quality: Physical and chemical criteria. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 7:25-31.

Brink, R.H. Jr, Dubach, P., and Lynch, D.I. 1960. Measurement of carbohydrates in soil hydrolyzates with anthrone. Soil Science 89:157-166 .

Coale, F.J. 1996. Descriptions of the soil test interpretive categories used by the University of Maryland Soil Testing Laboratory. SFM-3. University of Maryland, College Park.

Greenland, D.J. and Szabolcs, I. (eds.). 1994. Soil Resilience and Sustainable Land Use. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.

Leopold, A. 1991. The farmer as a conservationist. In S.L. Flader and J.B. Callicott (eds.). The River of the Mother of God and Other Essays by Aldo Leopold. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI. p.255-265.

Transparency and Openness Policy

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems believes that research articles should contain sufficient information to allow others to understand, verify, and replicate findings. We therefore believe that whenever possible, authors should make evidence and resources that underpin published findings available to readers without undue barriers to access, and under licences that freely permit reuse. RAFS' full Transparency and Openness Policy can be found here.

How to comply with this policy

To comply with Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems’s Transparency Policy, you must:

• Follow appropriate standards for disclosing aspects of your research design and data analysis. Many such standards can be found via the EQUATOR network.
• State in your manuscript whether preregistration exists for your study or analysis plan, and if so, allow access for peer reviewers to verify it.
• Include a Data Availability Statement in your manuscript. Please see the Cambridge University Press guidance for more information about Data Availability Statements, and some example statements.
• Appropriately cite any data, code, and other resources used in your research in your manuscript’s reference list, alongside literature and other research outputs.

Required statements

Authorship

Please provide a very brief description of the contribution of each author to the research. Their roles in formulating the research question(s), designing the study, carrying out the study, analysing the data, interpreting the findings and writing the article should be stated for each author.

Acknowledgments

Here you may acknowledge individuals or organizations that provided advice and/or support (non-financial). Formal financial support and funding should be listed in the following section.

Financial support

Please provide details of the sources of financial support for all authors, including grant numbers. For example, "This work was supported by the Medical Research Council (grant number XXXXXXX)". Multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma and space, and where research was funded by more than one agency the different agencies should be separated by a semi-colon, with "and" before the final funder. Grants held by different authors should be identified as belonging to individual authors by the authors' initials. For example, "This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust (A.B., grant numbers XXXX, YYYY), (C.D., grant number ZZZZ); the Natural Environment Research Council (E.F., grant number FFFF); and the National Institutes of Health (A.B., grant number GGGG), (E.F., grant number HHHH)".

This disclosure is particularly important in the case of research that is supported by industry. Support from industry not only includes direct financial support for the study but also support in kind such as provision of food items, medications, equipment, kits or reagents without charge or at reduced cost and provision of services such as statistical analysis; all such support must be disclosed here. Where no specific funding has been provided for research, please provide the following statement: "This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors."

In addition to the source of financial support, please state whether the funder contributed to the study design, conduct of the study, analysis of samples or data, interpretation of findings or the preparation of the manuscript. If the funder made no such contribution, please provide the following statement: "[Funder's name] had no role in the design, analysis or writing of this article."