A. INTRODUCTION

The inaugural working papers series, hosted jointly by the Centres for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD), Agricultural Policy Analysis (APA), AquaFish, Transformative Agricultural Commercialization and Entrepreneurship (TACE), Programme Coordination Offi ce (PCO), and the Directorate of Research and Outreach (DRO), seeks submissions of original Working Research Papers in line with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) Research Agenda. A Working Paper is either a review, a rapid or a comprehensive, technical or scientifi c report, including an empirical or modeling analysis or a discussion paper. Accepted Working Papers will be open-access publications issued on the LUANAR Website dedicated to disseminating research to interested policymakers, academia, the scientific community, and the broader audience.

B. AIM & SCOPE

LUANAR Working Paper Series welcomes submissions from faculty members, visiting research fellows, guest researchers, post-doctoral fellows, research associates, policy professionals, and postgraduate students. LUANAR Working Papers typically works in progress, shared to stimulate public discussion and debate to receive feedback on the ongoing research. The Working Paper series aims to strengthen the connection between policy, research, and practice in agriculture, rural development, human nutrition and health, food security, climate change, and environmental and natural resource management.
Accepted papers should align with one or more of the broad research thematic areas outlined in Malawi Vision 2063, the National Research Agenda, and the LUANAR Strategic Plan:
1. Agricultural Production and Productivity
2. Agricultural Commercialization, Agro-processing and Value Chain
3. Agri-Food Systems and Transformation, including food security
4. Natural Resource Management, Energy and Climate Change
5. Resilience, Gender, and Social Inclusion