The increasing climate change and widespread micronutrient deficiencies require a paradigm shift in crop development to go beyond the limitation of traditional breeding. This review summarizes the revolutionary breakthroughs in precision genome editing of 2021 to 2026, and the way they have been used in coming up with climate resistant and nutritionally enriched crops. We follow the history of evolution of basic CRISPR /Cas9 systems to the next generation such as high-fidelity Cas9 variants that reduce off-target effects, base editors that allow single-nucleotide conversions with record efficiency, and the all-purpose base of prime editing technology that allows targeted insertions, deletions, and all point mutations without breaking the two strands. These tools are critically assessed in terms of translation into reality in terms of engineered drought, heat, and salinity tolerance, and the biofortification strategies that dramatically increase the levels of iron, zinc, and provitamin A in staple crops. At the same time, we examine the divergent regulatory systems in the world, which apply to these products, and the ongoing technical issues, including the efficiency of delivery and off-target impact. This review highlights the extensive opportunities of genome editing to transform food security paradigms in the world, through the incorporation of technological innovation in their use and regulation.
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