Open Access Policy
Open Access Policy
The Journal of Agriculture and Food Science Applications (JAFSA) is committed to making scholarly research freely accessible while maintaining rigorous standards of editorial quality, peer review, research integrity and responsible scholarly communication.
Open Access (OA) refers to the practice of making scholarly research outputs available online to readers without subscription or paywall restrictions. Open access enables researchers, students, practitioners, policymakers, institutions and members of the public to discover, read, download and appropriately reuse scholarly literature.
JAFSA is committed to the principles of open scholarly communication. Articles accepted and published by the journal are made available online as final published articles and are intended to remain accessible to readers without subscription charges.
JAFSA's Open Access Model
Immediate and unrestricted access to published research.
Gold Open Access
JAFSA operates as a Gold Open Access journal. Under this publishing model, the final version of an accepted article is made freely and immediately available online upon publication, subject to the journal's editorial, peer-review, production and publication processes.
Readers do not need to purchase a subscription or pay a separate access fee to read the published articles. Articles can be accessed by researchers and other interested readers regardless of their institutional affiliation or geographical location.
Different Open Access Models
Understanding the terminology used in scholarly publishing.
Green Open Access
Authors deposit an eligible version of their manuscript in an institutional or subject repository, subject to applicable publisher conditions.
Gold Open Access
The final published article is made immediately available online by the journal without subscription barriers.
Diamond Open Access
Articles are freely available to readers and authors do not normally pay an article processing charge.
Hybrid Open Access
A subscription journal provides an open access option for individual articles, normally subject to an additional fee.
Bronze Open Access
Articles may be freely readable on a publisher's platform but may not have an explicit open license permitting reuse.
Black Open Access
This term is sometimes used to describe unauthorized or unlicensed access to copyrighted scholarly materials. It is distinct from legitimate open access publishing.
Creative Commons Licensing
How readers may legally reuse JAFSA articles.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
JAFSA publishes open access articles under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, unless a different license is expressly stated on the individual article.
The CC BY license permits others to share, copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), a link to the license is provided, and any changes made to the original material are indicated.
Users must not imply that the author(s) or JAFSA endorses a particular adaptation, product, service or use merely because the material has been reused under the license.
Attribution Requirement
Any reuse of a JAFSA article should appropriately acknowledge the original author(s), article title, journal, publication information and source, and should provide a link to the applicable Creative Commons license where required.
Copyright and Author Rights
Authors retain important rights in their published work.
Authors Retain Copyright
Authors retain copyright in their open access articles published by JAFSA, subject to the publication agreement and the terms of the applicable Creative Commons license.
The publication agreement authorizes JAFSA to publish, distribute, host and make the article available as part of the journal's scholarly publishing activities while allowing the article to be reused in accordance with its open license.
Article Processing Charges
How the Gold Open Access publishing model is supported.
Article Processing Charge (APC)
Because JAFSA makes published articles freely available to readers, the journal may charge an Article Processing Charge (APC) for accepted manuscripts where applicable.
APCs contribute toward the costs associated with scholarly publishing and may include editorial administration, manuscript processing, peer-review management, copyediting, typesetting, online publication, website infrastructure, digital preservation, metadata management, DOI registration and other publication services.
Where an APC applies, payment is ordinarily the responsibility of the corresponding author, the author's institution, research funder or another organization supporting the research.
Editorial decisions are independent of payment. Acceptance of a manuscript is based on scholarly and editorial considerations rather than an author's ability or willingness to pay an APC.
APC Waivers and Discounts
Supporting equitable participation in open access publishing.
Where JAFSA offers APC waivers, discounts or other forms of financial assistance, eligibility and application procedures will be communicated transparently to authors.
- Requests for financial assistance should be made through the journal's designated process.
- Where applicable, waiver requests should be considered independently from the editorial assessment of the manuscript.
- Authors should not assume that submission or acceptance automatically qualifies them for an APC waiver.
- Any published waiver or discount arrangements may be subject to eligibility requirements and available funding.
Access, Download and Reuse
Open access extends beyond simply reading an article.
Free Access
Published articles are made available online without subscription or pay-per-view barriers.
Worldwide Availability
Open access allows readers from different countries and institutions to access research regardless of their subscription status.
Legal Sharing
Articles may be shared through lawful channels in accordance with the applicable Creative Commons license.
Adaptation and Reuse
Licensed content may be reused or adapted according to the terms of the applicable Creative Commons license, including appropriate attribution.
Third-Party Material
Not every element within an article is necessarily covered by the article's license.
Important Licensing Limitation
Authors and readers should be aware that third-party material incorporated into an article may be subject to separate copyright or licensing conditions. Unless otherwise indicated, the Creative Commons license applied to the article does not automatically grant rights to third-party material that is identified as being owned by another copyright holder.
Anyone wishing to reuse third-party material should determine whether permission is required and obtain permission from the relevant copyright holder where necessary.
Repository and Self-Archiving Rights
Supporting long-term discoverability and accessibility.
Institutional Repositories
Authors may deposit their eligible published work in institutional repositories and other appropriate scholarly repositories in accordance with the article's open license and any applicable publication agreement.
Subject Repositories
Where permitted by applicable repository policies, authors may make their work available through recognized disciplinary or subject repositories.
Personal Academic Platforms
Authors may share their published work through appropriate personal academic websites and scholarly profiles, provided that attribution and licensing information are preserved.
Correct Citation of the Published Version
Authors and users are encouraged to link to and cite the official JAFSA version whenever possible.
Funder and Institutional Compliance
Open access supports the dissemination requirements of research funders.
Supporting Funder Requirements
Many research funders, institutions and public organizations require research arising from funded projects to be made openly accessible. JAFSA's Gold Open Access model can support authors seeking to comply with such requirements, subject to the specific conditions imposed by the relevant funder.
Authors remain responsible for confirming that the journal's licensing, copyright, APC and publication arrangements satisfy the requirements of their particular funder or institution.
Benefits of Open Access Publishing
Open dissemination can expand the reach and potential impact of scholarly research.
Immediate Accessibility
Readers can access published research without waiting for subscription access or institutional authentication.
Wider Research Reach
Open access removes many traditional access barriers and allows research to reach academics, professionals, practitioners, policymakers and students worldwide.
Greater Discoverability
Freely accessible articles can be easier for readers to discover, access, share and incorporate into subsequent scholarly work.
Potential for Increased Impact
Open availability can increase opportunities for an article to be read, discussed, downloaded, shared and cited. However, citation and usage outcomes vary by discipline, article and research topic.
Knowledge Reuse and Innovation
Appropriate reuse and adaptation of openly licensed research can facilitate further research, teaching, innovation and practical application.
Public and Professional Engagement
Open access can make research more accessible to professionals, practitioners, industry stakeholders and members of the public who may not have access to subscription databases.
Support for Research Funding Compliance
Open publication can help authors meet applicable institutional and funder requirements concerning public access to research outputs.
Long-Term Scholarly Availability
Openly published articles can remain available as part of the journal's digital scholarly record, subject to the journal's preservation and platform policies.
Open Access and Editorial Quality
Accessibility does not replace scholarly standards.
Peer Review
Open access does not mean that manuscripts bypass peer review. Submitted manuscripts remain subject to the journal's applicable editorial and peer-review procedures.
Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are based on scholarly and editorial considerations rather than an author's ability to pay publication charges.
Research Integrity
JAFSA expects authors, reviewers and editors to uphold appropriate standards of research integrity and publication ethics.
Correction of the Scholarly Record
Where necessary, published articles may be corrected, amended, or subject to other editorial actions in accordance with applicable publication ethics and journal procedures.
Responsible Use of Openly Published Content
Open access requires responsible and properly attributed reuse.
Give Proper Attribution
Always acknowledge the original author(s) and source and comply with the requirements of the applicable license.
Identify Adaptations
If the original work has been modified, translated, remixed or adapted, users should clearly indicate that changes were made.
Respect Third-Party Rights
Users must determine whether images, datasets, photographs, tables or other third-party content require separate permission.
Do Not Misrepresent Research
Open access does not permit users to alter research in a misleading manner or falsely attribute conclusions to the authors.
Preserve Scholarly Context
Reusers should avoid presenting excerpts or adaptations in ways that materially distort the meaning of the original research.
Respect Applicable Law
Open licensing does not remove other legal obligations, including privacy, database, trademark and other applicable rights.
Digital Preservation and Continued Access
Protecting the scholarly record beyond the initial publication date.
Long-Term Availability
JAFSA recognizes the importance of maintaining continued access to published scholarly content. The journal will seek to maintain the integrity and accessibility of its published content through appropriate digital publishing and preservation practices.
Persistent Identification
Where applicable, published articles may be assigned persistent identifiers such as Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), allowing readers and researchers to locate and cite the official publication record over time.
Policy Updates
Maintaining a current and transparent open access framework.
Policy Review
JAFSA may periodically review and update this Open Access Policy to reflect developments in scholarly communication, Creative Commons licensing, research funding requirements, publishing standards, digital preservation practices and applicable law.
Any material changes to the policy will be reflected on the journal's official website. Authors are encouraged to review the applicable policies and publication terms before submitting a manuscript.
Open Knowledge. Wider Impact.
JAFSA believes that scholarly research can have greater value when it is discoverable, accessible and responsibly reusable. Through Gold Open Access, the journal seeks to make agricultural and food science research available to a broad international readership while maintaining rigorous editorial and peer-review standards.
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