Open Access (OA) is a model for publishing digital scholarly peer-reviewed journals, available for free distribution via the web. The full text of OA journals and articles can be freely read, as the publishing is funded through means other than subscriptions.

Open Access (OA) publications reduce permission requirements and eliminate price barriers for readers. OA allows access for researchers, teachers, journalists, policymakers, and the general public without a subscription. Studies confirm that OA literature receives more citations than subscription publications.

A&R is a Gold Open Access. In this model, articles and related contents related are licensed under Creative Commons Licenses (CC) and can be accessed at no cost on the journal’s website, downloaded, stored in personal or institutional repositories, and be freely distributed and shared. In short, articles are permanently and freely available online for anyone, anywhere, to read, greatly supporting ongoing research.

2. What are A&R's aims and scope?

A&R is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal with an international multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary scope. It is as a platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied studies on contemporary agricultural, rural and farmers' issues and policies (both in international and Chinese/domestic terms of the 'Three Rural Problems') as broadly defined by the disciplines of economics, sociology, human geography and cognate subjects.

A&R publishes articles related with an emphasis on, but not limited to the following:

(1) Sustainable agriculture and rural sustainable development.

(2) Farmer's well-being, rural poverty alleviation, and women's studies.

(3) Smart agriculture, rural e-commerce, and digital governance.

(4) Understanding and analysis of contemporary agricultural, rural, and farmers' issues and policies (Chinese/domestic and global), as broadly defined by the disciplines of economics, sociology, human geography and cognate subjects.

(5) Other related novel sciences and technologies with agricultural & rural perspectives.

3. What types of articles are published by A&R?

A&R accepts submissions of the following types of manuscripts:

(1)  Perspective articles.

(2) Review Articles.

(3) Original Research Articles.

(4) Commentary Articles.

4. Why does the manuscript need an additional cover letter?

A&R requires each manuscript submission to be accompanied by a cover letter. The author should shortly argue for the value of their contribution, its novel/important points of the work, and the reasons it will interest the scholarly community. The editorial team emphasizes the authors' reflection on their work as the first quality step on the path towards publication.

By submitting a manuscript for evaluation to A&R, Authors:

(1) Confirm that neither the manuscript nor any parts of its content have not been previously published and are not currently under consideration by another journal.

(2) Confirm that they have no competing interests to disclose. In the case of co-authored/collaborative papers, all authors have approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to A&R.

(3) Confirm their role via a CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) author statement.

(4) Include contact information (email and affiliation) for all authors.

5. What distinguishes A&R from other journals?

(1) As broadly defined by a wide variety of disciplines (economics, sociology, human geography of contemporary agricultural, rural and farmer's issues and policy), the journal fosters scientific debate on critical, global topics for developing and developed countries alike.

(2) Culture plays an irreplaceable role in A&R. A&R has attached great importance to the construction of cultural systems since the beginning of the journal's establishment, as evidenced in our mission, vision, beliefs, values and slogans etc.,

(3) Fully independent Open Access (OA) platform：www.sccpress.com.

(4) Non-profit principle: A&R does not charge Article Publishing Charges (APC) for the first four years of its operation and, in the future, it will maintain a reasonable level of APC for authors worldwide.

(5) A&R’s aims to be included in SSCI and SCI as well as other global and local indexes to cater for the authors’ professional and academic development.

(6) A&R offers a supportive, efficient, and professional publication service.