All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on vegetable crops (VC) was started during the IVth five-year plan in 1970-71, to provide a national grid for multi-location testing of the vegetable technologies developed by various research institutes and state agricultural universities. The headquarter of the project was at the Division of Vegetable Crops, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi and the Project Coordinator (Vegetable Crops) joined the project in July 1971. During 1986, level of the project was elevated to the Project Directorate. Further, in a significant development during 1992, headquarter of the directorate was shifted from IARI, New Delhi to the present day Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) at Varanasi. In a significant development, in eleventh five-year plan the NSP(Vegetables) was merged with AICRP(VC).

Presently the project has 29 centres located in different agro-climatic zones of the country. Besides these, about 30 centres involving central institutes, state agricultural and traditional universities and a few other public and private research organizations are participating in the cooperative research programme of the project on voluntary basis. Following centers are associated for the improvement of vegetables under the umbrella of AICRP Vegetable Crops.

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