How Innovation, Legal Certainty Will Define Agricultural Future

Although Mexico has consolidated its position as a global powerhouse, ranking among the world’s Top 5 exporters of fruits and vegetables, the structural foundations of this success are being tested by climate change, regulatory uncertainty, and a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

At the heart of this transition lies the seed industry, the first and most critical link in the agrifood chain. This makes it essential to redefine seeds not merely as agricultural inputs, but as strategic tools for economic resilience and national security.

In the current economic context, factors such as currency appreciation and rising input costs, including fertilizers and energy, have squeezed profit margins to levels that could threaten producers' financial viability.

Under these circumstances, high-potential genetics become the farmer’s most important “financial shield.” Let us see how:

Increasing yield per hectare completely transforms the risk profile of an agricultural enterprise, allowing fixed costs to be spread over greater output and protecting investments against market volatility.

However, to capitalize on this benefit, we must accelerate the transition toward hybrid and improved varieties. Adoption rates are already high in the horticulture segment, supported by strong productivity and competitiveness. In contrast, uptake remains relatively low in grain crops such as corn.

The seed industry consistently invests between 10% and 15% of its sales in research and development to raise the “productivity ceiling” in the fields. Beyond conventional improvements in plant characteristics, gene editing, particularly through CRISPR, represents a paradigm shift. This technology makes it possible to precisely edit crop traits without incorporating foreign genes, such as by developing resistance to drought or pests, in a fraction of the time required by traditional plant breeding.

Thus, gene-edited seeds are not just a scientific breakthrough; they also serve as a financial shield for farmers. But even that innovation is useless if the law prohibits farmers from planting it.

Regulatory Limbo

While Latin American countries such as Argentina and Brazil already have clear regulatory frameworks that allow these products to be commercialized, Mexico remains in a “regulatory limbo.” Although Mexico was a pioneer in biotechnology, the country now faces an enormous regulatory backlog. We need legal certainty; without it, we risk losing competitiveness and, most importantly, food security and sovereignty.

It is crucial to build a regulatory framework grounded in scientific evidence, one that provides certainty for developers and makes these tools available to domestic producers. To ensure that we have food on the table tomorrow, Mexico urgently needs to update its laws.

The need for these innovations is evident in the tangible impacts of climate change. An example recently occurred in Sonora, where a winter shortage of “chill hours” caused wheat yields to plummet from the usual average of 6.5 tons per hectare to just 4.3 tons per hectare. This loss was not due to a lack of water, but rather to climate change that current seed varieties were not designed to withstand.

Our mission is to provide “climate-ready” seeds: wheat varieties that require fewer chill hours and corn varieties that can withstand water and heat stress.

Today, making the right decisions requires more than simply looking up at the sky. Integrating big data and artificial intelligence tools will allow us to predict pest outbreaks, optimize fertilization, and protect soil health, our most valuable asset against erosion, making farming a more predictable and efficient activity.

If we embrace innovation under clear rules and foster strong public-private partnerships, we will achieve the three objectives the country needs: generating prosperity in rural areas, securing the food supply, and reducing environmental impact.

The seeds of our future are ready; we only need to create the right conditions for them to grow.

Author's note: These reflections emerged from discussions held during the 2026 Annual Convention of the Mexican Seed Association (AMSAC), held on Aug. 6 and 7 in Cancun, Quintana Roo.

At the meeting, representatives of member companies—which account for 80% of the improved seed market—and leaders from across the agrifood chain, including representatives of the Consejo Nacional Agropecuario (CNA), Fideicomisos Instituidos en Relación con la Agricultura (FIRA) and government representatives gathered to address a historic crossroads for our country.