Demand for and Supply of Pulses and Oil Crops in Bangladesh: A Strategic Projection for These Food Item Outlooks by 2030 and 2050

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

 

The manuscript looks and feels much more like a technical report than any advance in the prediction of food crops. It is simply an ARIMA application to pulse productivity, which in itself does not push the frontier of scholarship. The latter should be the key criterion even for distributing the work for peer-review.

Author Response

Honorable reviewer rightly explained this manuscript and made excellent comments toward it. This manuscript is mainly derived from the technical report submitted to Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh which will be used for policy purposes. The model construction for prediction is basically based on ARIMA application.

 

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper refers to the topic of using pulses as a meet alternative in poor households. Authors provided a forecast for pulse demand and supply using ARIMA model in 2030 and 2050 in Bangladesh. In my opinion, paper contains good methodology and significant results, however it should be improved before being accepted to the journal:

 

1. Abstract should be fully reconsider: it should include purpose of the study and brief results. Lines 22-37 might be revised and shorten and present the most important results, not all of them.

2. I suggest including “Source of data” section into “Methods and Model” section. There is no need for additional section when it is possible to create subsection (2.2 “Materials” or “Data source”).

3.. The results of the study are interesting; however, it is needed to provide some discussion section where authors summarize given results and/or compare them with the results from other studies (whether it is possible).

4..  Authors should check the journal requirements according manuscript preparation (how to design section titles and numbers, tables, references, etc.).

5. I’d like to suggest adding more references: it will show that authors conducted high-quality literature review and analysis.

 

After all these modifications the quality of the paper will be considerable improved, and it might be published in the journal as the idea of the paper and given results are of scientific interest.

Author Response

The reply to comments of the reviewer is uploaded in word file 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

 

In their current study, the authors project the demand and supply of pulses and oilseeds in Bangladesh to 2030 and 2050 using the ARIMA model developed by Box and Jenkin. For this, secondary data from BBS, FAO and NARS were used.

The authors have chosen a current topic that corresponds to the objectives of the journal, which can be discussed within the scope of an article. The study as a whole reveals the expertise of the article writers on the subject, their more complex vision than the theoretical level. The authors are able to logically divide their study and organize it around a well-structured train of thought.

The literature used for the topic of the study is voluminous (contains 27 items) and is topic specific. The list of used literature is synchronized with the references in the text. In the literature used, the works that the authors of the article not only read, but also used in their work and referred to in their study were listed. In the bibliography used, the complete page number of the technical books and publications used is missing. I recommend replacing this in the final version. 

Overall, the development of the article fulfills the relevant content requirements well. The appearance of the authors' work is organized and clear. There are a significant number of figures and tables in it.

 I recommend the article for publication after the formal deficiencies raised and the references have been clarified.

Author Response

The reply to reviewer's comment has been uploaded

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

The paper “Demand for and supply of pulses and oil crops in Bangladesh: A strategic projections for these food items outlooks by 2030 and 2050” deals with a very interesting and important topic. With the intention that you can make those improvements in your future research, I will comment on some of the most relevant weaknesses in the different sections. I hope you find those comments useful.

Please shorten the abstract, it's too long. The abstract should be a total of about 200 words maximum.

In the introduction, add a paragraph indicating the structure of the paper. Briefly explain what is in each section. Strong justification is required for why this study is needed. The introduction should be divided into two parts - Introduction and Background. Please consider supplementing the literature with other important sources. The review of the literature should have culminated with a set of hypotheses (or research questions) perfectly aligned to the subsequent empirical evidence that has been obtained in the analysis of the results section.

The literature citation is not prepared in accordance with the requirements of the journal - for example [1], [1–3], or [1,3].

Authors should discuss the results and how they can be interpreted from the perspective of previous studies and the working hypotheses. Conclusions should include precise, concise, and quantitative statements about the significance of the study, highlight any new findings, and explain how the work could be extended in the future. In this section you should also clearly present the following important aspects:

- the research limitations;

- the future research directions.

What are the implications for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars?

The references are good and closely related to the topic of the article. I would like to draw their attention to the articles that can possibly enrich the discussion of results: 1) Pawlak, K., ……..The role of agriculture in ensuring food security in developing countries: …….Sustainability, 2020, 12(13), 5488. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135488; 2) Jerzak, M.A. ….Globalization of the Market for Vegetable Protein Feed…… https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030888; 3)  Ammar, K. A., Kheir, A.,… …….. (2023). Developing an analytical framework for estimating food security indicators in the United Arab Emirates: A review. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1-20; 4) Rad, A. ........(2021). Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and agriculture in Iran: a survey. Sustainability, 13(18), 10103.

The reference index is not prepared according to the journal's guidelines.

I hope the suggestions listed above can improve the research content.

Author Response

The reply to comments of the reviewer has been uploaded

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 5 Report

Feedback

The positive aspects of the work.

The scientific article is devoted to topical issues of agricultural development in the context of the concept of sustainable development of the world economy and ensuring food security of countries.

The work contains a significant amount of statistical and analytical data, which are structured, presented visually in the form of tables and graphs.

The authors have developed predictive models that make it possible to plan for the future the production of agricultural crops and include these data in strategic development programs.

Therefore, the study is of interest to both the professional and scientific community, as well as to a wide range of readers. The material is presented in an accessible form, the illustrations are clear. The conclusions are thorough and economically justified.

Remarks.

1. The article does not define a scientific problem – what question are the authors investigating, for what purpose? Basically, the article states the facts and analyzes statistical data.

2. The practical significance is touched upon very superficially, I would like to get a more detailed explanation - the results of the study will be given for the practical sphere, to whom they will be useful and whether the results obtained can be scaled to other regions or countries.

3. In the recommendations, the authors emphasize that the Government should prepare a long-term plan for the development of technology and transformation of agriculture in Bangladesh. It is necessary to explain the main provisions of this plan recommended by the authors.

Conclusion.

The article, of course, is of scientific and practical interest, and can be recommended for publication, provided that the listed comments are eliminated, since they are of a critical nature. Disclosure of the problem, purpose, novelty, practical significance are necessary components of any scientific work.

Author Response

The reply to the reviewer is uploaded

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

It still reads more like a technical report than an academic contribution, but we can accept the manuscript for publication, subject to a thorough copy-editing for English fluency.

 

Reviewer 4 Report

The reference index is not prepared according to the journal's guidelines

Reviewer 5 Report

The article can be published