CALL FOR PAPERS

The 2025 Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA) will be hosted by the Gauteng Province from the 29^th  September to 1^st  October 25 at River Meadows Manor, in Irene, Pretoria. The theme of this year’s Conference is “Market concentration and competition law in agriculture: Experience and lessons”.

The 62^nd Annual AEASA conference organisers invite agricultural economists and professionals from other disciplines to address contemporary challenges in the sector across various fields.  The sub-themes that the papers must respond to and for discussions in plenary sessions of the Conference are as follows:

• Policy, regulatory framework, international rule-based system and enforcement,
• Competition for factors of production: Land, Labour, Capital and technology.
• Industry structure, agricultural value chains and agribusiness.
• Role of competition policy on agricultural transformation and development
• Why is information exchange and gathering by industry bodies anticompetitive?
• Influence of multinationals, technology companies and other emergent factors on agricultural transformation, inclusivity and growth in Africa.

The Conference programme contains a stimulating mix of invited papers, contributed papers, panel discussions, mini-symposia, and a poster session.  It is designed to appeal beyond academia to agricultural economists in the public and private sectors, farm managers and agribusiness practitioners.  The social functions, including a cocktail party, a braai and a gala dinner, will provide ample opportunity for renewing old acquaintances, making new friends and networking.   

The 2025 Conference Organising Committee and the AEASA Management Committee are excited to invite submissions for contributed papers and posters.

Category 1: Contributed papers  

Contributed papers will be selected for oral presentation at the Conference based on the results of a blind review process.  The top three scoring contributed papers, based on the results of the blind review process, will be “upgraded” and presented in a plenary session of the conference.  The “upgraded” papers will be considered for the AEASA BEST CONTRIBUTED PAPER AWARD.  Other contributed papers accepted for oral presentation will be presented in parallel sessions.  Contributed papers not accepted for oral presentations will be considered for presentation as poster papers; however, such posters will not be eligible for AEASA’s Best Poster Paper Competition.   

1. SUBMISSION:
   1. Contributed papers should be submitted electronically as Microsoft Word documents on or before 27^th June 2025 to the following e-mail address: AEASAconference2025@namc.co.za and cc aeasaconference2025@gmail.com.

1. 2. Papers must be written in English and must not exceed 6000 words (excluding the cover page and abstract).
   3. Each paper must include a cover page with the name(s) of the author(s) and their affiliation(s), and contact details of the corresponding author.
   4. Each paper must include an abstract of not more than 250 words.
   5. References, Tables and Figures must comply with Agrekon requirements, which are obtainable from the AEASA website and published Agrekon journals.
   6. It is implicit in submitting a contributed paper manuscript for the AEASA Conference that;
      1. The manuscript has not been published previously,
      2. The manuscript meets ethical standards applicable to the discipline of Agricultural Economics, and
      3. All authors have read the manuscript and agreed to its submission to the AEASA Conference.
   7. By submitting contributed paper abstracts, the authors understand that, if their paper is accepted for oral presentation at the Conference, one or more of the authors will personally present the paper at the Conference and that such authors are liable to pay the full conference registration fee.
   8. By submitting contributed papers, the authors understand that they are required to serve in some capacity in the review process, including the evaluation of other papers.  If authors refuse to comply with this requirement, then their papers will be pulled from the conference.

Please note that contributed paper manuscripts submitted late (i.e., after 27^th June 2025) and those that do not adhere to the above guidelines will NOT be accepted for presentation at the conference. 

The corresponding authors will be notified of the acceptance of their manuscripts by 15^th August 2025.

2. PRESENTATION:
   1. All contributed papers accepted for presentation will be allocated 30 minutes per paper for oral presentation and discussion.
   2. All presentations should be prepared using Microsoft PowerPoint®.

Category 2: Poster papers

Poster papers are encouraged by AEASA as an effective means of presenting information.  In particular, posters are an ideal means to present exciting preliminary research findings as well as “Practical Success Stories”, in which authors are encouraged to share examples of ideas and innovations that have resulted in positive, practical outcomes in the workplace.  Poster papers’ abstracts will go through a blind review process to determine suitability for presentation at the Conference.  Poster papers accepted for presentation at the Conference will be presented in a Poster Session.  All eligible poster papers presented at the Conference will be considered for the AEASA BEST POSTER PAPER AWARD.  

1. SUBMISSION:
   1. Abstracts of poster papers should be submitted electronically as Microsoft Word documents on or before 27^th June 2025 to the following e-mail address: AEASAconference2025@namc.co.za and cc aeasaconference2025@gmail.com

1. 2. The abstracts must be written in English and must not exceed 250 words (excluding the cover page).
   3. Each poster paper abstract must include a cover page with the name(s) of the author(s) and their affiliation(s), and contact details of the corresponding author.
   4. The word ‘Poster’ must be inserted on the cover page above the title.
   5. References, Tables and Figures must comply with Agrekon requirements.
   6. It is implicit in submitting a poster paper abstract to the AEASA Conference in Durban that;
      1. The poster has not been presented previously, and is not presently being considered for presentation elsewhere,
      2. The research described in the poster meets ethical standards applicable to the discipline of Agricultural Economics, and
      3. All authors of the poster paper have read the abstract and agreed to its submission to the AEASA Conference.
   7. By submitting poster paper abstracts, the authors understand that, if their poster is accepted for presentation at the Conference, one or more of the authors will personally present the poster at the conference and that such authors are liable to pay the full conference registration fee.

Please note that poster paper abstracts submitted late (i.e., after 27^th June 2025) and those that do not adhere to the above guidelines will NOT be accepted for presentation at the conference.

The corresponding authors will be notified of acceptance of their abstracts by 15^th August 2025.

2. PRESENTATION:
   1. Poster board space will be available for each poster accepted for presentation at the Conference.  
   2. Posters should measure 1180mm by 840mm (A0 page size) with portrait orientation.
   3. Note that in addition to good scientific content, for an effective display, a poster must satisfy three basic criteria: it must be attractive, well organised and self-explanatory.
   4. Authors must set up their posters at the start of the conference and remove them at the end of the Conference. Double-sided mirror tape will be provided to mount posters on the poster boards.
   5. The Conference programme will include a time slot for a poster presentation session, during which authors of posters must be available to answer questions about their posters.  Authors will also be required to do a short (5-minute) presentation that describes what is contained in the poster.
   6. Commercial promotion is not permitted in contributed poster papers.

Mini-Symposia proposals:

The Conference programme makes provision for four or more parallel mini symposia on the 30^th September 2025.  This session provides an opportunity for interested parties to facilitate discussion of pertinent themes that fall under the conference theme and have real-world relevance for practitioners and researchers.  The facilitators will propose and decode the topics, and the symposia will be flexible in content and process.   They are expected to serve as a platform for dynamic debate.  If you are interested in facilitating one of these mini symposia, please submit your proposal to Ms Nomantande Yeki (email: nyeki@namc.co.za) before the 27^th of June 2025.