Call for papers: Special issue to honor Uma Lele

invite papers for a Special Issue of Agricultural Economics dedicated to honoring the legacy of Uma Lele for her outstanding contributions to the field of Agricultural and Development Economics. A former President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), Uma has made wide- ranging contributions to the understanding of the roles of international finance, multilateral organizations on rural development, and processes of growth and distribution in developing countries –particularly in Africa and Asia. She was also a passionate advocate for women’s empowerment and was committed to improving opportunities for women scholars.

We invite submissions of full papers that are inspired by Uma’s work, particularly addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Rural Development
• Role of International Organizations and Development Aid in Promoting Rural Development
• Agricultural Transformation in Developing Countries
• Sustainable Agri-food Systems: Environment, Water, Forests
• Gender Issues in Agricultural and Rural Development

You can find more information on her body of work at https://umalele.org/

While all are welcome to submit papers, given Uma’s commitment to mentoring, we particularly encourage submissions from scholars working in academic institutions in the Global South, as well as early career researchers from across the world. Shortlisted papers will be invited for a Workshop, where authors will get an opportunity to present their papers and receive detailed feedback from experts in the field. All the shortlisted papers will be invited to revise their papers (based on the feedback) and then submit the revised paper for the Special Issue of Agricultural Economics. The revised submissions will undergo double-blind peer review as per the Agricultural Economics process; and only those that are accepted through peer review will be published.

Guest Editors Sangeeta Bansal, Cheryl Doss and J.V. Meenakshi;

Co-editors: Jan Börner, Jacob E. Ricker-Gilbert, and Nelson Villoria

Submission Deadline:

For the Workshop: Full papers must be submitted by 15 April 2026 to be considered for the Workshop (Limited funding is available to facilitate participation in the Workshop, particularly, for researchers from the Global South and early career researchers).

For the Special Issue: To be considered for publication in the Special Issue, full papers must be submitted by November 30, 2026. (This includes both revised drafts from those who participated in the workshop and full drafts from others.)

Please submit your papers through the journal’s online portal and choose Special Issue Article under Article Type.