THE Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) has released its June 2021 issue featuring studies on policy and institutional structures and contextualized assessment tools that promote sustainable agriculture and food security.
Published by the Los Baños, Laguna-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), AJAD is an international refereed journal listed on nine recognized indices, such as the Web of Science Emerging Sources Citation Index and EBSCO, a leading provider of research databases, e-journals, magazine subscriptions, e-books and discovery service to libraries of all kinds.
Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director, said AJAD, which provides evidence-based information and analysis on topics within the broad scope of agriculture and development, accepts submissions year-round.
Gregorio added that AJAD publishes articles resulting from empirical, policy-oriented or institutional development studies, as well as articles of perspectives on agriculture and development, political economy of rural development and trade issues.
Included in the AJAD June 2021 issue is an analysis paper showing the potential of environmental sustainability and food safety attributes in influencing the purchasing decisions of consumers of fish and fishery products in Davao City.
Also discussed in another paper is the productivity and competitiveness of garlic production in the town of Pasuquin in Ilocos Norte province, which is considered the country's major garlic producer.
We trained them but their agriculture is more developed!
Adapted in another study to assess poor communities in India is an eight-item scale called Food Insecurity Experience Scale, a tool used in measuring access to food within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Also included is a study about India that explores a more responsive agricultural extension using information and communication technology, and a study about Vietnam that tackles information acquisition and conservation farming practices.
Gregorio said another study about Vietnam proposed in the second research delves on a comprehensive set of evaluation indicators to assess climate smart agriculture in that country.
It was noted based on international tools and approaches customized for the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, the indicators measure food security, adaptation, mitigation and applicability and of the five rice-based models tested using the indicators, rice-shrimp and rice-lotus rotations are most profitable, low-risk and applicable on a larger scale.
Also, in this AJAD issue, a paper on Thailand's organic agriculture cites the potential of cooperatives in influencing the switch to low-carbon and low-pesticide agriculture.
Here, the author reviewed state policies and urged the government for more coherent support through synchronous work with the main drivers of organic agriculture in the country -- cooperatives and non-government organizations.
According to Gregorio, the AJAD June 2021 volume is completed by two book reviews, one on "Surpassing the Middle-Income Trap" and the other on "Waking the Asian Pacific Cooperative Potential."
Dr. Cielito Habito, AJAD editor-in-chief and currently a professor of economics at the Ateneo de Manila University, noted that to be more responsive to the needs of the scholarly community, AJAD recently started publishing pre-prints to disseminate peer-reviewed articles at least one month ahead of the full issues published in June and December each year.
Technology can change food systems
"SEARCA has started using digital object identifiers in AJAD issues and articles published since December 2019 for a more convenient and permanent access by the public," Habito said.
These improvements, along with a more searchable and mobile-friendly website, are all part of AJAD's goal to be Scopus and/or SSCI indexed by 2025, he added.