ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi is a field unit of Indian Council of Agricultural Research under the aegis of Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.

Vegetables are important constituents of Indian agriculture and nutritional security due to their short duration, high yield, nutritional richness, economic viability and ability to generate on-farm and off-farm employment. Our country is blessed with diverse agro-climates with distinct seasons, making it possible to grow wide array of vegetables.
In view of importance of vegetables, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) established All India Coordinated Research Project on Vegetable Crops (AICRP-VC) in the year 1971 at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi to plan, coordinate and monitor the research activities on vegetable crops. To give a fillip to vegetable research and to meet the emerging challenges, the status of AICRP-VC was elevated to the Project Directorate of Vegetable Research (PDVR) in 1986. North eastern plain being the major vegetable producing area, the headquarter of PDVR was shifted to Varanasi in 1992. To further boost systematic vegetable research in the country a full-fledged Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) was established in 1999 at Varanasi. AICRP-VC was also continued with its headquarter at IIVR and a chain of AICRP centres located in different agro-climatic regions of the country.

Vision:

Vegetable research was given impetus through establishment of AICRP on vegetable crops during 1971 at IARI, New Delhi with the responsibilities of coordinating and monitoring of vegetable research programmes of the country

Mandate:

• Basic, strategic and applied research to enhance and sustain productivity, monitor quality and utilization of vegetable crops.
• Repository of vegetable crops genetic resources and scientific information.
• Transfer of technology, capacity building and impact assessment of technologies.
• Coordinate research and validation of technologies under AICRP on vegetable Crops.

At present ICAR-IIVR has research programs on altogether 42 vegetables with major focus on tomato, brinjal and chilli in Solanaceous vegetables; peas, French bean and cowpea in Leguminous vegetables; cauliflower and cabbage in cruciferous vegetables; bitter gourd, ash gourd, pumpkin, pointed gourd, muskmeleon, bottle gourd, sponge gourd, ridge gourd and cucumber in cucurbitaceous vegetables; okra in malvaceous vegetables and radish and carrot in root vegetables.

ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi functions through AICRP (VC) and 03 Divisions namely Division Of Vegetable Improvement, Division Of Vegetable Production and Division Of Vegetable Protection alongwith various other supporting section viz. Estate and maintenance, Vehicle, Farm, Guest House etc.