Founded in 1931, formerly known as the Agronomy Department of the Central Research Institute of Agriculture, the Institute of Food Crops consists of 6 research teams, mainly engaged in the research on high-quality, high-yield, and multi-resistant new varieties of rice, wheat, maize, and sweetpotato, as well as high-efficiency supporting cultivation techniques, etc.

The Institute is the home of four experimental stations of National Industry Technology System, National Center for Rice Improvement-Nanjing, Jiangsu Rice Engineering Research Center .

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the researchers in our Institute have bred 53 new varieties, with 32 patents granted and 41 new plant variety rights, and won 20 awards for scientific and technological achievements.