Editorial Endogamy Policy

Viterra: Agricultural, Biological and Natural Sciences maintains an active policy to prevent editorial endogamy, in accordance with international best practices in scholarly publishing and the ethical principles promoted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This policy aims to preserve editorial independence, promote academic diversity, and ensure the transparency and credibility of the publication process.

To prevent institutional concentration in authorship, the participation of members of the editorial team, scientific committees, or the publishing institution shall not exceed 25% of the total number of articles published, considering the two most recent issues or the previous editorial year, as applicable. This criterion seeks to ensure institutional diversity and balanced academic representation.

If members of the editorial team or academic committees submit manuscripts, their submissions will undergo the same double-blind peer review process as all other manuscripts. The editorial management of these submissions will be assigned to external editors or editorial board members who have no direct relationship with the authors, thereby preventing any conflict of interest. Editorial board members submitting manuscripts will not participate in any stage of the evaluation or editorial decision-making process concerning their own work.

Reviewer selection will prioritize institutional, geographical, and disciplinary diversity in order to strengthen objectivity, methodological rigor, and the scientific quality of the peer-review process, particularly in the fields of agricultural sciences, biological sciences, and natural sciences.

Through the implementation of this policy, the journal reaffirms its commitment to editorial ethics, transparency in academic management, diversity of scientific perspectives, and excellence in publishing research in agricultural, biological, and natural sciences.