AGRICULTURAL GENETIC RESOURCES AS A SOURCE OF RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN MEXICO

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic evidenced the fragility of the agri-food sector by affecting the food supply chains which directly depend on the health of its main actors. In this context, countries need to rethink the agricultural production models, considering environmental and human health as priorities to achieve food safety. Aim: Systematically review the state of the art regarding the role of agricultural genetic resources as a source of resilience in the face of events such as the present pandemic as a point of reflection for the identification of opportunities for the restructuring of regional agriculture sensitive to nutrition for health. Methodology: Exhaustive search and analysis of documentary information regarding the effects of COVID-19 on the agri-food sector and the role of agricultural genetic resources in the current pandemic were conducted. Then, through an analysis of the occurrence and association of the main terms addressed in the literature considered, the thematic axes were drawn to address the central discussion of the systematic review. Results: Terms co-occurrence analysis corroborated the relevance and pertinence of the topic addressed. Additionally, the importance of the conservation of agricultural genetic resources and implementation of sustainable agriculture models, as a source of resilience to pandemics, was visualized. The discussion addressed the impact of the pandemic on the Mexican agri-food sector and the restructuring of post-COVID-19 agriculture through the nation and nutrition-sensitive agriculture for health approaches. Implications: The exhaustive analysis of the relationship COVID-19-agricultural genetic resources-health in Mexico highlights the need for the generation of agricultural policies and the increase in multidisciplinary research that favors biodiversity as a source of sustainability, productivity, and health for agroecosystems and the welfare of humanity. Conclusions: A fatalistic scenario for humanity seems to be dissipating in the face of the possibilities of rethinking the economic, social, and agricultural systems from the approaches of the nation and nutrition-sensitive agriculture for health, where, through the responsible use of agricultural resources it is possible to rebuild an agri-food production system with a tendency to resilience to events such as the current pandemic caused by the COVID-19 disease.