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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

Please, kindly attend to the comments made and provide very detailed responses.

Thank you

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?>

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??>

The PLOS Data policy

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??>

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: 1.The title is lengthy, clumsy, and very difficult to comprehend. Because there are many independent variables that can be an article alone

2. In terms of cost it is clear that inorganic fertilizers are costly however do you articulate that in terms of productivity and accessibility

3. What is your policy recommendation in general and farm-level recommendation

4. The introduction part is more general and it is all description, importance but you did not supported with strong empirical and conceptual testimonies, even some of them looks like a lecture note

5. What you are going to address is not clear or your objective is not clear

6. In your methodology,I have not seen if there are missing data because you add 10% as contingency, you said nothing how to measure food security status of the households, I have not seen any strong model to see the effect of the mixed farming on household food security status

7. It is better to support the result of demographic data with national standards and the implications

8. Food security will be very difficult to measure using self-sufficiency, what quantity is sufficient, please see food security interns of its pillars.

9, You conclusion lacks clarity, be specific and answer your research questions, it is broad and looks like abstract please revise it

10. It is not also strongly linked with climate change resilience

In general, I appreciate the effort made, however, the paper lacks details of linking crop-livestock system to food security, it should be measurable and have a model to show this. besides I did not see about sustainability issue but boldly written in your title.

Reviewer #2: Line 129 Please correct font size of Gossypium hirsutum as is seen larger as compare to other text

Line 130 make Botanical name of tomato Solanum lycopersicum in italics

Line 479 Please correct the stud with study

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what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

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Reviewer #1: Yes:  Shishay Kahsay Weldearegay

Reviewer #2: Yes:  Dr. Narendra Chaudhary, National Research Centre on Seed Spices, INDIA

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[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/ . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org . Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Dear Dr. Mekuria,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please attend to the comments in the attached documents in detail.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Jun 19 2025 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols .

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Charles Odilichukwu R. Okpala, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

Additional Editor Comments:

Authors, thanks for your patience. Please, you can see reviews are positive, but require additional inputs to improve your work. Kindly attend to the comments in great detail

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions??>

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Partly

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?>

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: N/A

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??>

The PLOS Data policy

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??>

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: No

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Reviewer #1:  Still i am not satisfied with the food security measurement applied and the linkage with resilience to climate change. I prefer if it would have been consider the temperature and rainfall in relation to food security. with out considering the temperature and rainfall trends considering other parameter to see the linkage between food security and resilience to climate change is incomplete.

Reviewer #3:  The abstract is informative and captures key findings effectively; however, there are minor grammatical inconsistencies, awkward phrasing, and issues with tense consistency that need revision for clarity and professionalism.

It is recommended to clarify abbreviations on first use, refine vague expressions (such as "higher levels"), and maintain consistent past tense throughout. Strengthening the transitions between findings would also improve the abstract’s overall flow and readability.

Please make the recommended changes to the following lines to improve clarity, grammatical accuracy, and consistency:

• Revise the sentence on gender and productivity to specify "higher productivity levels" and clarify resource utilization.

• Adjust the phrasing about agricultural practices to maintain past tense ("some were found to negatively affect productivity").

• "some have been found to affect it negatively" → "some were found to affect it negatively" (tense consistency).

• "farmers have disclosed" → "farmers disclosed" (simpler, more formal past tense preferred).

Conclusion

The content provides valuable insights into household demographics, farm variability, and legume production challenges. However, I suggest merging the two paragraphs into a single coherent paragraph to improve the flow and readability. Additionally, please consider revising and splitting the following long sentence to enhance clarity:

• The sentence starting with "Even if, the region was rich in growing diverse crops..." (lines 631–632) is too lengthy and could be broken into two sentences.

Overall, the findings are relevant, but these improvements will make the presentation much clearer.

Results

Given that higher educational attainment among household heads did not lead to improved farm productivity, what factors might be limiting the effective translation of education into practical agricultural outcomes in this region?

The manuscript mentions that farmers who applied fertilizers did not necessarily achieve higher yields compared to those who did not. However, this statement lacks clarity and supporting data. Please revise this section to clearly explain whether the lower yields were statistically significant and specify whether factors such as crop type, fertilizer type, or application rates were controlled for in the comparison.

In the section discussing land fragmentation, you report both farmland expansion and shrinking farm sizes due to population growth, which appears contradictory. Please clarify this point: are farmers expanding into new lands while their individual farm holdings are simultaneously becoming smaller due to subdivision among heirs? A clearer explanation is needed to avoid confusion.

Methodology

The methodology is clearly described; however, could you clarify how data quality was ensured when combining digital and paper-based data collection methods? Specifically, were there any verification or cross-checking steps taken to minimize inconsistencies between the two approaches?

Reference

Some references are older (e.g., 2014–2017). Consider including more recent studies (2020–2024) to strengthen the background.

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what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy

Reviewer #1: Yes:  Shishay Kahsay Weldearegay PhD)

Reviewer #3: Yes:  Dr. Fahmida Sultana

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[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/ . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org

Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: Reviewer comment.docx

Legume integration in smallholder farming systems for food security and resilience to climate change.

PONE-D-24-28412R2

Dear Dr. Mekuria,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Charles Odilichukwu R. Okpala, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Thank you authors for your careful revision of your work. It is acceptable for publication

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

Reviewer #3: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions??>

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously? -->?>

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available??>

The PLOS Data policy

Reviewer #3: No

**********

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English??>

Reviewer #3: No

**********

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

**********

what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy

Reviewer #3: Yes:  Fahmida Sultana

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