Paul Chavarriaga, a leader in the genome editing and transformation platform of the Bioversity-CIAT Alliance, discussed the impact of climate change on agriculture at a recent event for the Society of Colombian Farmers. He stressed that climate change exacerbates existing issues like high temperatures, frosts, droughts, floods, pests, and diseases, threatening the viability of key crops. To address these challenges, Chavarriaga advocated for the use of modern biotechnology in agriculture, which can help develop new crop varieties that can withstand these events. However, he clarified that biotechnology alone cannot solve global structural issues like food inequality. Instead, it can provide localized solutions to specific problems. He cited the example of transgenic cassava in Kenya and the approval of golden rice in the Philippines as successful applications of biotechnology in addressing local health problems.