Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

Submission checklist

You can use this list to carry out a final check of your submission before you send it to the journal for review. Ensure that the following items are present:

• One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
• All necessary files have been uploaded:
• Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Supplemental files (where applicable)

Further considerations

• Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked'
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet).
• Declaration of interest: All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work.
• Please note that to verify originality, your article may be checked by the originality detection service Crossref and plagiarism - similarity checks.
• Submit your article: Please submit your article via bptimothy@atbu.edu.ng
• The system automatically converts your files to a single PDF file, which is used in the peer-review process.
• Formatting requirements: There are no strict formatting requirements but all manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to convey your manuscript, for example Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions, Artwork and Tables with Captions.
• Peer review: This journal operates a single blind review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of one independent expert reviewer to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles.
• If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B.
• Define abbreviations that are used in the article. mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
• Acknowledgements: Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references
• Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI) If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI. You are urged to consult IUGS:
• Math formulae: Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. • Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Ensure that each illustration has a caption. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but
• Explain all symbols and abbreviations used.
• Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end.
• Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body.
• Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text.

Article structure

Title: The title must be grammatically correct and should not be more than 20 words in length.

Authors’ Names and Institutional Affiliations: This should include the full authors’ names (with no titles or qualifications), institutional addresses (Department, Institute, City, Postal code, Country), and e-mail addresses for all authors. Authors and affiliations must be linked using superscript numerals. The corresponding author should also be indicated.

Co-author: P.hd research Marnuscriptshould have Author 1 + 3 Co-authors

            M.Sc research Marnuscriptshould have Author 1 + 2 Co-authors

            B.Sc research Marnuscriptshould have Author 1 + 1 Co-authors

            Techinical and Intervention project Marnuscript Author 1 + 7 co-authors

Preparation of Manuscript

Manuscripts must be in Microsoft Word format only, be written in English, typed double-spaced, with font size 12 of Times New Roman 3cm margins of A4 paper. Manuscripts should be paginated using Arabic numerals to be centrally located at the bottom centre of each page. All major headings should be in “upper case”. For sub-titles, the first letter of each key words should be capitalized (title case) while in sub-sub-title, use sentence case, i.e., only the first letter of the first word should be capitalized (title case). Complete manuscript should not be less than 5 pages and not more than 10 pages. Manuscript in general should be organized as follows:

First Page:

The first page should carry the title of the paper at the top of the page which should be concise and not more than 20 words. This is followed by the name(s) of author(s) and list of their addresses/Institutional affiliation. Authors are advised to spell out one of their given names rather than precede surnames with initials only as this facilitates identification. The mailing address, GSM number and e-mail address of the corresponding author should be provided.

Abstract:

There must be an abstract not exceeding 250 words. It should be structured to give a brief introduction to the study, methodology, main findings of the study, conclusions drawn from the study and their significance.

Keywords:

Provide immediately under the abstract 5 carefully chosen keywords arranged alphabetically in title case.

Main body of the work:

The main body of the work should be presented under the following headings:

Introduction:

Authors should provide a brief literature survey (avoid citing literature older than ten (10) years, unless absolutely necessary) and background to the study expressing the statement of the problem, objectives or hypotheses and the significance of the research against which the study is to be visualized and appraised. Subheadings not required here.

Materials and Methods:

Materials and methods or research methods include description of the study area(s), methods of data collection, sampling techniques and statistical analysis (in sufficient detail to allow these to be replicated by other researchers). A detail description of the sample size selection plan or procedures is necessary (use Table where necessary). Subheading may be used for each item.

Results and Discussion:

Results should be reported based on the findings of the study without unnecessarily repeating information already stated on the tables, figures and plates. Tables, Figures and Plates should be presented immediately following the page where it was first mentioned. In a professional manner, results and discussions may be combined for convenience and should be considered in relation to other published information or any published initial hypothesis explaining the significance and implications of the results. We advise that this section be written in past tense.

Conclusion and Recommendation:

Conclusion and recommendations contains the inferences drawn from the factual evidences of the research and also pointing out remaining gaps in knowledge.

Acknowledgements:

If any, authors should acknowledge the source of funding or any assistance received in the research.

 References:

References in the text should be cited according to APA format, with author’s surname(s) e.g., Kushwaha (2017) or (Sani, 2017), Ochi and Murtala (2017) or (Ochi and Murtala, 2017), Danwankaet al. (2017) or (Danwankaet al., 2017). References cited should be listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order of surnames. The reference layout should be as follows:

 Journal articles:

Authors, year “Title of the article”, Journal name (in italics), Volume (Issue), Pages. Example:

Kushwaha, S., Ochi, J. E., Abubakar, M. M., and Ayoola, G. B. (1999).  Effect of chemical fertilizer and animal wastes application on environmental life support using the “Delphi” technique. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 14(1):91-98.

Books:

Standard format: Authors, year, Title (in italics), Publisher, City of Publication, Year of Publication, page numbers (if appropriate). Example:

Sani, M. H.(2017). Agribusiness Management for Development: No Strategy = No Effectiveness. Stirling-Horden Publishers Ltd., Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, 2017, 346Pp.

 Conference Proceedings:

Authors, year “Title of the article”, in Title of conference (in italics), Publisher, and pages. Example:

Sani, R. M., Murtala, N. and Akor, O. G. (2002). Poverty alleviation strategy: An economic analysis of cassava production in Dekina LGA, Kogi State.In:  Akande, S. O.; Okuneye, P. A. and Adeyeye, V. A. (eds). Agricultural Development for Poverty Alleviation and Economic Empowerment in Nigeria. Proceeding of the 17^th annual conference of Farm Management Association of Nigeria (FAMAN) held at the Sheraton hotel, Abuja, Nigeria, Pp: 176-180.

E-Books:

Authors, year Title of E-book (in italics), Publisher, and date of original publication. [Format] Available: Source. Example:

1. Eckes, (2018). The Developmental Social Psychology of Gender, Lawrence Erlbaum, pp.

 E-journal:

Authors, year “Title of Article”, Title of Journal (in italics), Volume (Issue), pages, and month year.  [Format] Available: Database Name (if appropriate), article number (if given), internet address. [Accessed date of access]. Example:

Altun, A. (2018). “Understanding hypertext in the context of reading on the web: Language learners’ experience”, Current Issues in Education, 6(12), July 2003. [Online]. [Online]. Available: http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume6/number12/. [Accessed Dec. 2, 2004].

Tables:

All tables must be numbered consecutively (in Arabic numbers). Table headings should be placed (centered) above the table. Place tables as close as possible to where they are mentioned in the main text. All Tables should be referred to in the text as Table 1, Table 2, etc.

 Figures:

Figures should be as small and simple as is compatible with clarity. Please, present the figure immediately preceding the where it was first mentioned. The goal is for figures to be comprehensible to readers in other or related disciplines, and to assist their understanding of the paper. Unnecessary figures and parts (panels) of figures should be avoided: data presented in small tables or histograms, for instance, can generally be stated briefly in the text. Avoid

unnecessary complexity, coloring and excessive detail. Label all figures as Figure 1, and should be indicated with Arabic numerals. No part of a figure should go beyond the typing area.

 Equations:

Equations should be numbered consecutively. Equation numbers, within parentheses, are to position flush right, e.g., as…(1) against the equation using a right tab stop. Please, cite in the text using, e.g., “Eq. (1)” or “equation (1)”, not “(1)”, and note that the formula is centered using a center tab stop. Be sure that the symbols in your formula have been defined using “where;” (the w should be in small letter) before or immediately following the equation. Notation must be legible, clear, compact, and consistent with standard usage. In general, acronyms should be defined at first use.

 Abbreviations:

The SI system should be used for all scientific and laboratory data unless they conflict with generally accepted current practice {e.g. kilogram (kg), milligram (mg), liter (lt), hour (hr), degree centigrade (^oc) hectare (ha)} etc.