Journal summary 2020 from Editor in Chief

2020 found the global community focused on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 1.8 million individuals died in 2020 due to the pandemic that has devastated individuals, families, communities and countries. However, an array of effective vaccines that were developed, challenged and approved in 2020 has brought to this year a lot of hope. A global vaccination campaign that has been launched towards the end of 2020 signaled a dramatic turning point in fighting and eradicating the viral pandemic. The fight is not over yet, and a significant proportion of the global population has yet to be fully vaccinated, however, the recovery process has begun. All over the world, teaching and research activities were halted during 2020 yet submission of manuscripts to AIMS Agriculture and Food continued against all odds. I would like to commend the contributing authors, reviewers, and the managing team of the journal for their hard and dedicated work during 2020. The journal has attracted in 2020 a record number of authors from all over the world and 232 manuscripts have been submitted. This is a new record that represents a 47% increase in submission from 2019. 2020 was not free of difficulties and we encountered delays in reviewing submitted manuscripts. We are committed to enhancing the efficiency of the review process in 2021. Our collective effort yielded a significant accomplishment and a total of 65 new papers have been published during 2020. AIMS Agriculture and Food has thus maintained in 2020 its publication record from 2019. Our journal is committed to a fair, thorough, effective, and relevant review process and we are dedicated to promoting and publishing manuscripts that carry high level of scientific merits and relevance. The papers that have been published in 2020 included 57 research papers and 5 review papers. The journal is currently indexed in: AGRICOLA, AGRIS, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Web of Science and Scopus. Aims Agriculture and Food brings an integrated approach and view to a broad array of issues pertaining to agriculture and food. The journal has a unique scope that effectively allows critical and relevant issues that are related to the continuum spanning from agriculture through food production, processing and consumption to be discussed. The journal's strength is in its multidisciplinary scope and approach that draws on a spectrum of basic and applied disciplines. We are dedicated to continuously enhancing the quality and impact of our journal. COVID-19 has presented the global community and economy with significant challenges, many of which are related to the major disruption of the food supply chain, all over the world. We have to learn from these difficulties and better tool our agriculture- and food- related practices, platforms and infrastructures to effectively mitigate effects of similar situations in the future. These challenges open new horizons and opportunities for establishing new and revolutionary basic and applicable knowledge and information. Inherent to a disrupt food supply chain is a significant increase in waste generation. New processing and preservation concepts and technologies will have to be established, developed, and implemented in order to successfully meet the challenges. Efforts to enhance the resilience of food supply chains and creative approaches for ensuring food supply during global crisis time are needed as well. AIMS Agriculture and Food provides an effective platform where these challenges can be discussed and new relevant discoveries and knowledge can be published. On behalf of the editorial and managing team, I would like to thank the authors that have submitted their work to the journal in 2020 and to the reviewers that have worked very hard in assessing these submissions. I hope that in 2021 AIMS Agriculture and Food will continue to evolve in terms of both quality and reputation. The Editorial Board, the managing team, and I are committed to continue our efforts in ensuring the high quality and success of our journal. I would like to thank you for your continuous support and I wish you a very healthy, productive and successful 2021.

Moshe Rosenberg, D.Sc., Editor in Chief

Professor and Specialist

Department of Food Science and Technology

University of California, Davis

Davis, CA 95616

U.S.A