Rwanda Journal of Agricultural Sciences
Journal / Rwanda Journal of Agricultural Sciences / Submissions

Author Guidelines

Background

The Rwanda Journal of Agricultural Sciences (RJAS) is the official journal of University of Rwanda, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science (UR-CAFF). RJAS publishes high quality scientific articles=and is supported by a highly competent Editorial Board composed of both nationally and internationally recognized scientists.  The journal accepts papers of relevance to African tropical agriculture and global advances in agricultural research with significant scientific and technological impact on tropical agriculture.

Scope of the Journal

The RJAS publishes articles in fields that apply the principles of natural, economic, and social sciences to agricultural practice. These include, but are not limited to, plant sciences (agronomy, horticulture, plant protection), animal sciences (nutrition, breeding, veterinary medicine), soil and water management, agricultural engineering and precision technology, food science and processing, agricultural economics and business, environmental fields such as agroecology and forestry and Agroforestry, and agricultural extension to connect research with farmers. Furthermore, articles demonstrating the application of mathematical modeling, ICT, genomics, climate change, informatics, remote sensing, and geographic information systems in agriculture and the environment are highly welcome.

Submission of manuscripts

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration  for publication  elsewhere,  and that its publication  is approved by all authors  and tacitly or explicitly  by the responsible authorities  where the work was carried out.  If accepted, the article will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.  If an article has previously been published, it will be retracted from the journal and a notice of retraction issued.  The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication. Submission of the manuscript also implies that the authors agree to the following: (i) The work is original and free from plagiarism; (ii) All authors have agreed on the authorship order. The corresponding order shall be responsible for settling disputes. After publication of the final article, it will no longer be possible to change the authorship order. (iii)  Conflicts of interest must be explicitly stated at the end of the manuscript.

The use of Artificial Intelligence in the development of a manuscript

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the development of a manuscript is permitted only with full disclosure. Authors must clearly describe how AI tools were used (e.g., language polishing, data analysis, figure generation) in the declaration with a dedicated statement, and remain fully accountable for all content, ensuring no plagiarism or factual errors.

Examples of such declaration: The author(s) declare that no artificial intelligence tools were used to generate any part of this manuscript. OR (if used) The author(s) used [tool name] for [specific purpose, e.g., language editing] and assume full responsibility for all content.

Copy right

For all accepted articles, authors must complete an RJAS publishing agreement. The corresponding author will receive an email confirming manuscript receipt together with the journal publishing agreement. Authors retain copyright of their work, while granting the journal first publication rights. The journal/publisher is not responsible for any subsequent use of the work. Any infringement action, if desired, is solely the author's responsibility. 

Peer Review Process

(i)  On receiving the manuscripts, an acknowledgement letter shall be sent to the corresponding author within 14 working days. (ii) The manuscript will be checked for completeness, relevance to the journal scope and adherence to the author guidelines by the Managing Editor. Articles that do not comply with the journal requirements will be sent back to the author without undergoing the peer-review process. The process of peer review may take 1-2 months.  Authors will be able to trace the process by contacting the Managing Editor through email. (iv) The Editor-In-Chief will inform the corresponding author through email indicating if the manuscript has or has not been considered for publication.  The authors may be requested to revise manuscripts in accordance to reviewers and editors’ comments before a decision to either accept or reject a manuscript.    (v) For revised manuscripts, authors are requested to highlight the changes by underlining and using blue text color.   (vi)  Receipt of revised   manuscript   will   be confirmed   by sending   an email to the corresponding author. (vii)  After publishing, the authors may download the copies of the articles from the journal website.

Preparation of manuscripts

Manuscript Organization and Formatting: General Requirements

RJAS accepts the following types of articles: (a) Original research articles.  (b) Review articles. (c) Editorials (d) Short communications.  (e) Letter to editor.

Original Research Articles: These articles describe original observational or interventional research concerning all agricultural related fields (as described in the scope of the Journal).  

Manuscripts should be organized under the following headings, in order: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion (Results and Discussion may be combined into a single section), Conclusion, Acknowledgements, and References.

Authors are strongly advised to proofread the Abstract carefully, ensuring that all results and conclusions mentioned in the Abstract are also fully reported and supported within the main body of the text, figures, or tables of the manuscript.

Original research articles must include a detailed description of the study design and analysis. The total word count for original research articles should not exceed 7,000 words (excluding the title page, abstract, references, tables, figures, figure legends, and appendices). If necessary, authors are encouraged to submit additional supporting material, which will be considered for publication on the RJAS website.

Review articles: Reviews include meta-analyses of randomized trials, systematic reviews (without quantitative meta-analysis), and narrative reviews.  Reviews of agricultural based topics should include references to relevant practice guidelines.  Reviews should follow the general format of original articles, and not exceed 7,000 words including all components such the title page, abstract, references, tables, figures, figure legends, and appendices.

Editorials: Editorials are solicited by the Editors and provide commentary on articles selected for publication.  Editorials should be 1200-1500 words in length and be accompanied by no more than 10 references.  Solicited Editorials should be submitted as a MS Word document to the Editorial official e mail.

Short communications: Short Communications are urgent communications of important results that are very original, of high interest and likely to have a significant impact on the agriculture and Veterinary medicine related fields.  Short Communication should be no more than 2500 words, and could include two figures or tables.  It should have at least 8 references.  Short communications must report completed work, not preliminary findings: they are an alternative format for describing smaller pieces of work.

Letters to the Editor: Letters are considered for publication (subject to editing and abridgment) provided they contain no material previously submitted for publication or published elsewhere. The letter must be typewritten and double-spaced; the text (excluding references) shall not exceed 350 words. The author of the cited work is given the opportunity to submit a reply. Both letter and reply may undergo peer review, and publication occurs only after all parties have had a chance to respond.

Language

All manuscripts must be written in good English. British spelling and usage are accepted. Use decimal points (e.g., 3.14) rather than commas; for numbers of 10 000 or more, use a space to separate thousands (e.g., 25 000, not 25,000). The journal accepts manuscripts in English only. 

Manuscript preparation:

All manuscripts should be prepared in MS-Word and PDF format and submitted online or through the journal’s E-mail address.

Page setup

Page size: A4; Margins: Normal standard 1 inch

Pages should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals.  All lines from the beginning to the end of the manuscript must be numbered.

Title Page

The title page must be a separate page preceding the main body of the manuscript. Provide the following information on the title page, in the order given: 

• Title

1. Title: The title should be brief (10 to 15 words) but sufficient to represent the scope of the objectives and overall content of the paper. Titles must follow the standard formatting guidelines as stated below: 

• Font: Times New Roman; Size-20; 
• Line Spacing: Double; 

• Paragraph spacing: Title has 1 line before and 1 line after (in addition to double spacing). Other paragraphs have no extra spacing apart from the double line spacing.
• Alignment: Title Justify; author names and affiliations left-aligned.

•  Authors’ names & Affiliations: Should appear below the title and should be followed by their respective addresses.  The following formatting style is recommended: Font: Times New Roman; Size: 12; Line spacing: Double.
• List all authors with their full given names (first names) and family names (surnames), given name first before family name.
• Affiliations should include: department, institution, city, state/province (if applicable), postal code, and country.
• Use superscript numbers (e.g., ¹,²) to link authors to their respective affiliations.

3. ORCID ID (optional but encouraged)

• Provide the ORCID ID for each author as a hyperlink (e.g., https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000) on the title page after all affiliations.

4. Corresponding author information

• Clearly indicate the corresponding author with an asterisk (*) placed after the author's name.
• Add the words “(corresponding author)” in parentheses after the name 
• Provide the full mailing address, telephone number, and email address of the corresponding author as a footnote at the bottom of the title page. Official email addresses are encouraged

 

Abstract: on the title page

A concise and factual abstract is required (maximum length 350 words). The abstract should start with (i) two introductory lines, (ii) a line statement of the problem, then briefly; (iii) the purpose of the research, (iv) the methodology (study design, place and duration of study, procedures and analytical techniques, (v) the principal results providing specific data and their statistical significance and (iv) major conclusions that emphasize new and important aspects of the study. An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. References should therefore be avoided but, if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list.

Keywords: on the title page

Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 4-6 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations:  only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible.

General Rules for Text

Please use the following rules for whole text (except for the title), including abstract, keywords, headings, tables, references, acknowledgement, glossary and appendixes.

General Text Formatting for RJAS Manuscripts

• Font: Times New Roman
• Font size: 12 points for all text (except the title, which is size 20, and possibly table/figure captions with size 10)
• Line spacing: Double (2.0) throughout the entire manuscript, including abstract, references, footnotes, and figure captions
• Paragraph spacing: No extra blank lines between paragraphs (i.e., set “Before” and “After” spacing to 0 points). Indicate new paragraphs by indenting the first line by 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) or by leaving an extra blank line.
• Alignment: Left-aligned (not justified) for the main body text. The title is an exception (justified as specified).
• Margins: 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides (top, bottom, left, right)
• Page numbers: Consecutively numbered in the top right or bottom center 
• Line numbers: encouraged for review purposes (add in the left margin)
• Language: English, British usage accepted
• Decimal and thousands: Use decimal points (e.g., 3.14) not commas; use a space for thousands (e.g., 10 000)
• Coordinates: Geographic coordinates should be presented in decimal degrees using a decimal point (not a comma), with the hemisphere indicated by N, S, E, or W directly after the value (e.g., 1.95°S, 30.06°E). Latitude should be given before longitude, separated by a comma. Altitude in meters above sea level (masl).

Main Body of Manuscripts

Full papers should be structured as follows:1, Title page; 2, Abstract; 3, Introduction; 4, Material and Methods; 5, Results; 6, Discussion; 7, References. 9, Appendices (mainly longer tables or other figures referred to in the text);    

8. Other important parts before appendices.

1. Author Declarations may include:
• Conflict of Interest (or Competing Interests) statement
• Funding sources (Financial support)
• Author Contributions (roles of each author, e.g., conceptualization, methodology, writing, review)
• Availability of Data and Materials (Data availability statement)
• Ethics approval and consent to participate (for studies involving humans or animals)
• Consent for publication (for images or personal data)
• Use of Artificial Intelligence statement
2. Acknowledgements (Put the acknowledgement or sponsoring information after the main body and before the references).
3. Supplementary Material – description of any additional files (e.g., datasets, videos, appendices) published online.
4. Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Summarize and disclose all conflicts   of interest   by all authors in a paragraph if any or statement that declares none. In case of a conflict of interest, the corresponding author must submit a Word document with all conflicts of Interest statement (online provided at www.rwoj.ur.ac. rw) including a line for each author. Conflicts of interest are defined as all relationships or interests that could influence or bias the work. Although an author may not feel there are conflicts, disclosure of relationships and interests affords a more transparent process, leading to an accurate and objective assessment of the work. In addition, interests that go beyond financial interests and compensation (non-financial interests) that may be important to readers should be disclosed.

1. Disclaimer – if applicable (e.g., views expressed are solely those of the authors).

 

Subdivision of the article

Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections.  Subsections should be numbered

1, 2. (Then 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2; 1.2, etc.) (The abstract, acknowledgement, references, appendix are excluded from the section numbering).  Use this numbering also for internal cross - referencing:  do not just refer to 'the text.' Authors are urged to write as concisely as possible, but not at the expense of clarity.

Tables

Tables should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals according to their appearance in the text. Each table should be referred to in the text; no standalone tables. Captions should be above the table. Place descriptions of tables above the table. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables does not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.

Tables should be:

Integrated into the submitted document, captioned above the table, Should NOT be submitted as an image, but as MS Word-Table, Subtitled with all units of measurement (metric units).

Borders setting: all; width: 1/2 pt, Cited in the text as e.g. Table 1.

Figures, Photos, Illustrations

Figures, Photos, and Illustrations: Submit high-resolution files (300 dpi for photos, 600 dpi for line art) in TIFF, JPEG, EPS, or PDF format. Number figures consecutively (Figure 1, Figure 2) and cite them in order in the text. Provide a concise, self-explanatory caption below each figure (Times New Roman, 10–12 pt, single-spaced). Ensure all labels are legible (minimum 8 pt). Colour figures are accepted but may incur printing charges. Obtain written permission for any copyrighted material.

Formulae and units

The text size of formulae should be the same as normal text size. All measurements must be in SI units.

Scientific Terminology

Scientific Names of Plants and Animals

Authors requiring detailed guidance should consult Scientific Style and Format as provided by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) whose guidelines are followed   in the botanical examples below, and International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). Note that authors in the field of virology have slightly different rules. They should try to follow the standards established in those fields.  The Latin names of species of plant and animals are always italicized. Do not confuse these names with phyla, orders and such which are not italicized (e.g. the Pike, Esox lucius, is valued for food as well as sport

Domestics and horticulture names

Either a dictionary or the guides to nomenclature IC ZN and ICBN should be consulted for the proper spelling of breeds of domestic animals and broad horticultural categories (e.g.  German shorthaired pointer) in some horticulture publications, such names are enclosed in single quotation mark any following punctuation is placed after the closing quotation mark.

E.g. The hybrid agastache’ Apricot Sunrise ‘best growing in zone 6, mingles with sheaves of cape fuchsia (phigelius ‘Salmon Leap’)

Genetics terms

Names of genes, or genes symbols, including any Arabic numerals that form a part of such symbols, are usually italicized (italicization helps differentiate genes from entities with similar names) Symbols for genes contain no Greek characters or roman numerals.  Human gene symbols are set in full capitals, as are the gene symbols for other primates.  Mouse and rat genes symbols are always spelled with the initial capital letter.

Human Genes: BRCA1; GPC3

Mouse Genes: Cmv1; Fgf12; Rom1…..

Geological Terms

Writers and editors working   in geological   studies   should   consult   US Geological   Survey, suggestions to authors of the Reports of the United States Geological Survey, and Scientific Style and Format.

Authorship

It is important for the integrity of science and the appropriate attribution of effort that only people who have had an active role and significant impact on conceptualizing, funding, performing, analyzing, or writing up research be included as authors.  Every person who contributed to the writing of a manuscript must be listed as an author. RJAS reserves the rights to question the role that co-authors have played on the work being reported.

To qualify  as an author  one should:  (i) Have made substantial  contributions  to conception  and design, or acquisition  of the data, or analysis  and interpretation of the data, (ii) Have been involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (iii) Have given final  approval of the version  to be published,  (iv) Agree to be accountable  for all aspects of the work in ensuring  that questions  related  to the accuracy of integrity  of any part of the work are appropriately  investigated  and resolved,(v)  Each author  should  have participated  sufficiently  in the work to take public  responsibility  for appropriate  operation  of the content.  Acquisition of funds, collection   of data or general supervision   does not justify   the authorship.   

Additional guidelines           can          be          obtained           from          the           following           website;

http://pub lica tio ne thic s.org/reso urces/guide lines

Change in Authorship

Normally there should not be any change in authorship after the manuscript is submitted.  But in case this happens, a letter requesting to rearrange, add or to remove the author should be sent to the Journal Manager by corresponding author and must include the following: (a) The reason the name  should   be added  or removed  or the  authors  names  should  be rearranged,   (b) written confirmation (e mail,  fax or letter) from all authors that they agree with the change. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation letter of the author to be added or removed.  For proper handling the authorship   issue, Journal Manager will inform the Journal Editors of any such request and publication of the accepted manuscript will be suspended until authorship has been agreed upon by the Editor.

 Manuscript Evaluation

Every manuscript submitted to RJAS is immediately assessed by an editor for initial process (internal peer review). Depending on the potentiality   of an article, based on the quality, novelty   and relevance for publication, the article should be sent to minimum two external peer reviewers to evaluate the suitability of article.  The corresponding author is requested to nominate at least three potential reviewers. However, the Editor will have the overall authority on the selection of reviewers.  A time frame of 8 weeks maximum will be given to a reviewer to go through a manuscript and send his or her suggestion to the editor. If a reviewer is unable to meet the time frame, the article is given to another relevant   reviewer.   The Editor may establish   a rapid review system of special manuscripts. Reviewers   are advisors of authors and editors.  The Editor may be asking reviewers   to make recommendations regarding acceptance or rejection of manuscripts, and should be careful to the provided recommendations; however, the final decision belongs to editor.   The editor may reject manuscripts without review, for example if the subject matter is outside the purview of the journal, a manuscript on the same topic is just about to be published, the quality of the manuscript is poor or criteria for the submission of manuscripts are not met.

Decision making and communication to Authors

The editor will make a decision about the manuscripts (accept, invite a revision or reject) based on a consideration of all reviewer comments, his own critique and external factors. The comments and recommendations of the reviewer should be considered in the decision making; however, the judgment of the editor is the most important regarding the suitability of the manuscripts for the journal.  Decisions are communicated to authors by the Editor.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is the most and serious ethical violation in publication.  To avoid this, author must acknowledge the work of others. Intellectual contribution and originality of all articles are to be defined by the authors, and it is the responsibility of authors to be aware of various forms of plagiarism like; the plagiarism of ideas, text, paraphrasing, self-plagiarism which include duplicate publication, splitting data etc. … Ignorance of plagiarism and its various form will not be tolerated. If any form of plagiarism is suspected, Editorial Board will immediately stop the processing/publication   of the article   and seek the explanation   from the author(s), and the corresponding author will be asked to provide the response within 30 calendar days, of receiving the letter from the editor.  All accepted manuscripts will be screened using plagiarism detection software.  Failure to provide acceptable explanation, the RJAS Editorial Board will determine the fate of the article and the author including   actions may be effected; Rejection   of the manuscripts, Withdrawal of already published article, and restricting   the author(s) from further publication in the RJAS for one year or permanent depending upon the nature of offence

If there is any claim of intellectual, idea or data theft of a publication work, proof must be provided in the claim for further handling.  More guidance on plagiarism can be obtained from the follow ing

website:  http://p ub licatio nethics.org/reso urces/interna tio na l-sta ndards- for-ed itors-a nd-authors

 References

Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the authors.  RJAS uses the APA style citation system (American Psychological Association- 7th Edition).  Authors are advised to consult to the “Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (www.apa.org).”

Details      concerning      the     APA-style      citation      system     can     also     be     found      at http://linguistics.b yu.ed u/fac ulty/he nric hse nl/apa/apa01. html

Citations in the text

Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list  (and vice versa). Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

Citing and listing of web references

As a minimum, the full URL should be given.  Any further information if known (author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.) should also be given.  Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or they can be included in the reference list.

Text

Citations in the text should follow the referencing style used by the American Psychological Association (APA)- 7th Edition.

E.g.: Bazerman, C.  (1981) ‘What Written Knowledge Does:  Three Examples   of Academic Discourse’, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Vol. 11, No.3, pp. 361–388.

Lists

References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary.  More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.

Digital object Identifiers (DOIs) in References

The journal/publisher   encourages   authors   to cite those items (journal   articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, technical reports, working papers, dissertations, etc.) that have DOIs. When the cited items have DOIs, the authors should add DOI persistent links to the regular references.  The DOI persistent links should be the last elements in the references.  The persistent links should be active.

Format of persistent link: http://dx.doi.org/+DOI  (without “doi:”)

Example  of persistent link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/2.901164

The authors or editors may retrieve articles’  DOIs at:  http://www.crossre f.o rg/S imp le Te xtQue ry/

 

Examples:

Reference to a journal publication:

Kornack, D.  Rakic, P.  (2001).  Cell Proliferation   Without   Neurogenesis   in Adult   Primate Neocortex. Science. 294 (5549). 2127-2130. http://dx.do i.o rg/10.1126 /sc ie nce.1065467

Reference to a book:

Strunk, W., Jr., & White, E. B. (1979). The elements of style. (3rd ed.). New York: Macmilla n. p.12.

Reference to a chapter in an edited book:

Mettam, G. R., & Adams, L. B. (1994). How to prepare an electronic version of your article.  In B. S. Jones, & R. Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the electronic age (pp. 281-304). New York: E- Publishing Inc.

Reference to a web source:

Smith,     Joe, (1999).      One      of      Volvo's      core      values.       [Online] Available: http://www.volvo.com/environment/index.htm (accessed on July 7, 1999)

Glossary

Appendix

Please be sparing in the use of appendices unless they are absolutely necessary.  The appendixes should be numbered as, e.g. Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc.

Privacy Statement

The names and E-mail addresses entered in this journal’s site will be used exclusively for the purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party. 

Ethical standards

The journal will not accept for publication papers that describe experiments of concern for present ethical and welfare standards.  The Editor’s decision in this regard is final.   RJAS follow guidelines    and    standards    established     by    Committee    on   Publication    Ethics   (COPE: http://pub lica tio ne thic s.org).

Article processing fee

The College Academic Council (CAC) of the College of Agriculture, Forestry & Food Science (CAFF) approved a modest Journal Publication fee of USD 200 per accepted paper.  

For further information, please contact

Associate Professor Mugunga Canisuis Patrrick, Editor in Chief
E-mail:  c.mugunga@ur.ac.rw; mugungacp@gmail.com  
Tel: +250 788 533 348.
P.O. Box 210, Musanze, Rwanda.

 

Please e-mail your manuscript to:

Mr. Mapendo MINDJE, College Publication Officer
e-mail:    m.mapendo@ur.ac.rw
Tel: +250 783 513 176
College of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science, University of Rwanda
P.o. Box 210, Musanze, Rwanda.

Copyright Notice

For all accepted articles, authors will be requested to complete, a RJAS publishing agreement. An email will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with the journal publishing   agreement.   Copyrights   for articles published   in our journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal.  The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author. The findings, interpretations and conclusions reached in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor and /or the Editorial Board of RJAS.

Guidelines for Reviewers

1. Peer Review and Editorial Procedure

The Rwandan Journal of Agricultural Sciences (RJAS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scientific integrity and publication ethics. All manuscripts submitted to RJAS undergo a rigorous peer-review process.

• Initial check: Upon submission, the Editorial Office performs a technical pre-check (formatting, completeness, basic ethics).
• Assignment: The Editor-in-Chief (or an Associate Editor) assigns at least two independent expert reviewers. The manuscript may also be sent to the journal’s statistical adviser when appropriate.
• Review: Reviewers evaluate the manuscript and provide detailed comments and a recommendation.
• Decision: The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the Oversight Editorial Board, makes the final decision (accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject).
• Confidentiality: The manuscript is a confidential document. Reviewers must not discuss the manuscript with anyone else. All communication with authors must go through the RJAS Editorial Office.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities and Code of Conduct

RJAS follows the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines for peer reviewers. By accepting an invitation to review, you agree to:

• Provide an unbiased, objective, and timely assessment.
• Declare any potential conflicts of interest (see Section 3).
• Maintain strict confidentiality.
• Not use any material or data from the manuscript for your own research before publication.
• Not involve AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) to write the review report, except for limited grammar or language polishing, which must be disclosed.
• Not recommend excessive self-citations, citations of colleagues, or citations to RJAS unless genuinely needed to improve the manuscript.

Co-reviewing

If you wish to have a colleague assist with the review, you must inform the Editorial Office in advance and obtain permission. The colleague must also meet reviewer qualifications and keep confidentiality.

3. Conflicts of Interest

You must decline a review invitation if any of the following apply (or if you are unsure, contact the Editorial Office):

• You work at the same institution as any author.
• You have been a co-author, collaborator, or joint grant holder with any author within the past three years.
• You have a close personal relationship, rivalry, or antipathy with any author.
• You could financially gain or lose from the publication.
• You have any other non-financial conflict (political, ideological, intellectual, commercial, etc.).

If you reviewed the same manuscript for another journal, that is not a conflict of interest, but please let the editor know.

4. Invitation to Review

When you receive an invitation (via email from the RJAS Editorial Office), please:

• Accept or decline within 5 days using the link provided.
• If declining, suggest alternative reviewers (with their contact details) if possible.
• If you need more than the requested time (typically 14 days for a full review), request a deadline extension promptly.

5. Preparing the Review Report

General principles

• Read the entire manuscript, including any supplementary material.
• Write in English (British usage accepted).
• Be constructive, respectful, and specific. Derogatory comments will not be tolerated.
• Provide detailed comments that help the Editor-in-Chief make a decision and the authors improve their paper.
• Separate your comments into two sections:
• Confidential comments to the Editor – general assessment, recommendation, and any issues not to be shared with authors.
• Comments to the authors – detailed, line-specific or section-specific feedback.

What to assess (RJAS specific criteria)

Please comment on the following broad aspects:

• Focus
• Does the manuscript focus on research and development linkages in agriculture or related environmental fields?
• Is it relevant to RJAS’s scope?
• Originality
• Is the work truly original? Is it known from foreign or specialist literature?
• Originality is a major criterion, especially for case reports.
• Scientific reliability & study design
• Is the overall design sound? Are the research conditions clearly defined?
• Is the study described in sufficient detail to be reproducible?
• Methods
• Are the methods adequately described and appropriate?
• For original research, a detailed description of study design and analysis is required.
• Results
• Are the results relevant to the problem posed? Are they credible and well presented (including tables and figures)?
• Note: RJAS combines Results and Discussion – check that the integration works.
• Interpretation & conclusions
• Are the conclusions warranted by the data? Is speculation reasonable? Is the message clear?
• Note: RJAS combines Conclusions and Recommendations.
• References
• Are references up-to-date and relevant? Has the most current literature been used?
• Any glaring omissions?
• Importance / suitability for RJAS
• Is the work suitable for RJAS’s general readership, or more appropriate for a specialist journal?
• If not acceptable, how could it be improved?
• Other points
• Ethical aspects
• Need for statistical assessment
• Presentation (including writing style, adherence to RJAS formatting guidelines: double spacing, Times New Roman, decimal points, space for thousands, etc.)
• Use only 3 significant figures (e.g., 58.4 – 59.5%)

Structured review form (suggested)

RJAS encourages a structured review. You may use the following headings in your “Comments to authors”:

• Brief summary – one paragraph outlining the aim, main contributions, and strengths.
• Major comments – fundamental issues that must be addressed (e.g., flaws in design, missing controls, inappropriate statistics).
• Minor comments – specific line-by-line corrections, unclear sentences, typographical errors, formatting issues.
• Figures and tables – are they clear, legible, and properly cited? Do they present the data accurately?

6. Overall Recommendation

Please select one of the following recommendations (to be provided confidentially to the Editor):

• Accept in present form – The manuscript is ready for publication without any changes.
• Accept after minor revision – The manuscript is fundamentally sound but requires small corrections (e.g., clarification of text, missing references). Authors typically receive 5–10 days for minor revisions.
• Reconsider after major revision – The manuscript has merit but has serious flaws (e.g., incomplete methods, weak interpretation, missing data). Authors are given 10–14 days to resubmit a revised version with a point-by-point response. A second round of review may be needed.
• Reject – The manuscript has fatal flaws, no original contribution, or breaches ethical standards. Rejection should be well justified.

7. Confidentiality and Anonymity

• RJAS uses double-blind peer review (authors and reviewers are not known to each other) unless either party requests otherwise. Any such disclosure must be facilitated by the Editor-in-Chief.
• Do not reveal your identity in your comments (e.g., by writing “as I showed in my own paper…”).
• If you choose to sign your review (optional, for open peer review), you must inform the Editorial Office. Otherwise, your identity will remain hidden from authors.
• Review reports are normally passed to authors anonymously. Constructive comments are always shared, even for rejected papers, to help authors improve.

8. Reviewer Benefits

RJAS values the time and expertise of its reviewers. Benefits include:

• A personalized reviewer certificate for each completed review.
• A discount voucher for a future RJAS publication (or a reduction in article processing charges) after completing two or more reviews in a calendar year (details available from the Editorial Office).
• Inclusion in the annual acknowledgment of reviewers published on the RJAS website.
• Consideration for the Outstanding Reviewer Award.
• Option to have reviewing activity deposited to ORCID (link your RJAS account with ORCID).

9. Revisions and Re-review

When a revised manuscript is submitted, the Editor may ask you to review it again. Please:

• Compare the revision with the original and with the authors’ point-by-point response.
• Assess whether all your concerns have been adequately addressed.
• Provide a final recommendation (accept, minor revisions, or reject – major revision is rarely requested on a second round).

10. Ethical Concerns

If you suspect any of the following, please notify the Editorial Office immediately (confidentially):

• Plagiarism or self-plagiarism (including text recycling).
• Fabrication or falsification of data.
• Simultaneous submission to another journal.
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
• Violations of research ethics (e.g., lack of informed consent, animal welfare issues).

RJAS follows COPE flowcharts for handling ethical cases.

11. Final Notes for Reviewers

• Timeliness: Please submit your review within 14 days of accepting the invitation. If you need more time, request an extension.
• Formatting reminders for authors: When you evaluate formatting, note that RJAS requires: Times New Roman, 12 pt (title 20 pt), double spacing, left-aligned (title justified), decimal points (not commas), space for thousands (e.g., 10 000), British English.
• Coordinates: Should be in decimal degrees (e.g., 1.95°S, 30.06°E).
• Figures: High-resolution (300 dpi for photos, 600 dpi for line art), numbered, with concise captions.

Thank you for your essential contribution to maintaining the quality of the Rwandan Journal of Agricultural Sciences.

RJAS Editorial Office
Email: editor.rjas.caff@ur.ac.rw
Website: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/rjeas/about