How to write a great paper in agricultural development and get it published

Research in agriculture, agricultural economics and rural development is essential if we are to find ways to feed the increasing population and reduce poverty. Yet much of this research goes unpublished. This paper proposes an effective way to increase publication productivity, based on regularly scheduled writing and a systematic method. It first explains how to schedule 25% of your working time for writing. It then describes the method, breaking down the writing task into five practical steps: develop a story line to describe new and important research; mold the story into a short outline, according to the basic structure of a scientific paper; assemble the evidence for a convincing case in relevant and well-organized tables and figures; write the first draft of the story; and, finally, rewrite and edit the draft for style and language. With careful targeting of good journals, and some luck in the reviewing process, the proposed method should lead to several publications each year.