Conflict of Interest
Discoveries in Agriculture and Food Sciences
Conflict of Interest Policy
What authors, reviewers and editors must disclose as competing interests at DAFS, why disclosure matters, and how undisclosed conflicts are addressed.
A conflict of interest arises when a secondary interest — financial, professional or personal — has the potential to influence judgement about a primary interest, such as the validity of research or the fairness of a review. Disclosing an interest does not imply impropriety; the risk to trust lies in non-disclosure. This policy applies to authors, reviewers and editors.
Interests that must be disclosed
Both financial and non-financial interests fall within scope, commonly including:
| ▸ | employment, consultancy, paid advisory or expert roles, and honoraria; |
| ▸ | research grants, agribusiness or industry funding, share ownership, and patents or plant-variety rights and royalties; |
| ▸ | membership of boards or organisations with a stake in the subject matter; and |
| ▸ | close personal relationships, academic rivalry or firmly held convictions relevant to the topic. |
In agricultural and food research, authors should give particular attention to sponsorship by companies with an interest in a product, variety, input or technology under study.
Authors, reviewers and editors
Every manuscript must carry a conflict-of-interest statement disclosing the relevant interests of all authors, or affirming that none exists, together with all funding sources; an undisclosed interest found after publication may lead to a correction or retraction. A reviewer must decline, or inform the editor, where a competing interest could compromise an impartial assessment. An editor must not handle any manuscript in which they hold a competing interest, including work by themselves or close collaborators; such manuscripts are reassigned, and Editorial Board members’ submissions receive no preferential treatment.
