Among the challenges faced by modern agricultural sectors is land scarcity due to urbanisation, soil degradation, and environmental pressures. In addition, global climate change further complicates the situation by increasing the frequency of droughts, floods, heat waves, and unpredictable weather patterns( Chavhan et al., 2025; Ahmar et al., 2020). Meanwhile, emerging pests and diseases threaten global food security.

For decades, selective breeding has been practised to develop improved crop varieties. These efforts have successfully developed crops with higher yields, such as rice, wheat, maize, and many others, helping feed billions of people. However, this traditional selective breeding is often slow, uncertain and may take more than a decade. In addition, breeders are often limited by the genetic diversity available within existing plant populations.

CLIMATE-SMART CROPS

Through modern biotechnology, the agricultural sector is now entering a new era in which state-of-the-art technologies can be implemented to complement conventional breeding approaches. One of the most promising innovations is genome editing.

This technology allows scientists to make precision breeding of targeted crops by changing their genetic makeup, thereby developing crops that are more productive, nutritious, resilient, and sustainable.

Unlike recombinant DNA technology, which introduces foreign DNA, genome editing typically modifies existing genes within the same organism through SDN1 and SDN2. However, SDN3 may involve the insertion of foreign DNA and is therefore generally classified as a genetically modified organism( GMO).

Many experts believe genome editing

By Noor Faizul Hadry Nordin

International Institute for Halal Research and Training International Islamic University Malaysia( IIUM)

“ If managed wisely, genome editing could become one of the defining agricultural innovations of this century.”

could become one of the most important agricultural technologies of the twenty-first century, potentially helping farmers adapt to climate change while supporting global food security and economic growth.

WHAT ' S GENOME EDITING?

Every living organism contains DNA that serves as an instruction manual, determining how the organism grows, develops, reproduces, and responds to its environment. Within this DNA are thousands of genes, each responsible for specific traits( Zhang et al., 2018).

In crops, genes influence important agricultural characteristics such as plant height, grain size, flowering time, disease resistance, drought tolerance, fruit quality, and nutritional composition. Genome editing allows scientists to make precise changes to specific genes.

Unlike traditional breeding, which improves traits through repeated selection and crossbreeding over many generations, genome editing can directly modify the genes responsible for those traits.

Genome editing in general is a form of targeted genetic engineering that utilises sequence-specific nucleases to introduce double-strand breaks or other programmable modifications at specific genomic loci.

Once these modifications occur, the cell ' s DNA repair mechanisms, mainly non-homologous end joining( NHEJ) or homology-directed repair( HDR), will subsequently repair them. This will result in precise genetic alterations, including gene knockouts, targeted nucleotide substitutions, gene insertions, or gene replacements, depending on the editing strategy used.

Currently, the most common genomeediting techniques include Zinc Finger Nucleases( ZFNs), TALENs, and CRISPR-based technologies. Among these techniques, CRISPR-Cas9 has emerged as the most widely adopted due to its simplicity, efficiency, and relatively low cost.

The CRISPR system functions much like " GPS-guided " molecular scissors. A guide RNA( gRNA) is designed to direct the Cas9 enzyme to a specific genomic location.

Once the target is found, the enzyme will cut the DNA, allowing the cell ' s

repair machinery to make the intended modification, which may involve removing undesirable genes, improving existing genes, or introducing beneficial changes found in nature.

Recent breakthroughs in base editing and prime editing have made genome editing even more precise, offering greater potential for crop improvement while reducing unwanted changes.

AGRICULTURE AND AGRIBUSINESS

One of the greatest potentials of genome editing is its ability to alter the genetic makeup of crops to adapt to global climate change. Agricultural sectors around the globe are already experiencing the effects of rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, and increasing soil salinity.

These environmental stresses reduce crop yields and threaten the livelihoods of farming communities. Even though traditional breeding can improve stress tolerance, the process often takes many years.

Genome editing can help develop climatesmart crops more quickly. By identifying and adjusting genes linked to traits such as drought tolerance, efficient water use, heat resistance, and salt tolerance, scientists can produce crops that are better able to survive and perform well under challenging environmental conditions.

The modification may produce varieties of crops that can survive longer periods of flooding, remain productive during heat waves, or require less water during dry seasons, helping farmers maintain stable production despite increasingly unpredictable weather.

PRODUCING MORE WITH LESS

Food security is not only about producing enough food but also producing it efficiently. At present, researchers have identified genes that influence grain size, fruit development, flowering patterns, and photosynthetic efficiency, which may lead to trait improvement.

These improvements can increase crop yields without requiring more farmland, helping farmers produce more food from the same area of land. Higher-yielding crops also improve farm income, reduce costs, and strengthen agricultural supply chains. As agricultural land becomes increasingly