The atmosphere’s interaction with other components at all temporal and spatial scales plays an important role in shaping the climate system. Climate variability and change have direct effects on crop physiology, presenting limited adaptability to climatic variations in temperature, radiation, humidity, drought, incidence of pests and diseases, affecting food availability and access. The factors associated with climate change in agriculture have sparked interest in seeking alternatives to mitigate the adverse effects on crop productivity. In this review, an analysis of the state of the art is carried out to generate new knowledge to address the following questions: Are native germplasms more adaptable to adverse climatic events associated with climate variability and change? What is the difference between climate variability and climate change? What are the potential effects of climate variability and change on agriculture? What is the response of agriculture to climate variability and change, in relation to plant genetic resources as a basis for adaptation of family agriculture? What is the importance of native plant genetic resources and germplasm banks in the face of climate variability and change? This review highlights how climate variability and change are events that are increasingly recurrent and have a greater impact on agricultural production, affecting food autonomy and security.