Pandemic outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) represents a serious global public health emergency crisis and has potential impacts on the society, agriculture, and the economy. This disease emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of December 2019 and has rapidly swept across the world infecting millions of people in more than 200 countries. Dry grains and oil legumes are among some of the major agricultural commodities that are projected to be severely affected by this outbreak. Therefore, this chapter focusses on the critical value chain activities involved in the food legume production, cross-border trade, and impact of these events on the socioeconomic uplifting of populations during the COVID-19 quarantines and other restrictions. The chapter analyzes already emerging trends on downstream distribution and demand that is currently influenced by unavailable labor force and loss of income by individual in poorer communities as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. Finally, the review examines how the pandemic exacerbates some of the already existing challenges such as the slow pace of crop productivity, impact on crop improvement, and other climate change-related production constraints. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
COVID-19 Pandemic and Agriculture: Potential Impact on Legumes and Their Economic Value Chain