According to the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad was established in 1938 and began operating as an Agricultural Experimental and Control Station. The Station was located in the building constructed in 1938, where the Institute Head Office has remained to this day.

In 1938, after installment of electricity, telephones and heating, the building in 26, Cara Nikolaja Street in Novi Sad (today 30, Maksima Gorkog Street) was officially ready for use. According to the letter of the Royal Provincial Government Auditing Committee dated October 18, 1938, Agricultural Experimental and Control Station in Novi Sad was granted the use and management of the building.

Over the course of 87 years, status and organization of the Institute changed according to the surrounding social environment, so to this day, Agricultural Experimental and Control Station (1938–1941) has had different names and founders. Until 1941, which marked the start of World War II, the Institute was under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture of former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During occupation, the area of Bačka became a part of Hungary, and the Agricultural Station became a department of the Agricultural Institute in Szeged. In May 1946, the Agricultural Station became the Provincial Institute for Agricultural Research according to the decision of Presidency of the Executive Council of AP Vojvodina. The Institute was state-run and state-funded like any other public body, but not long after, it gained the self-management status and became the Institute for Agricultural Research in 1954. By regulation of Executive Council of the Republic of Serbia, Institution for Agricultural Research was reorganized with a new name – the Institute of Field Crops. After organization changes of the Republic of Serbia, the decision made by the Executive Council of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia transferred the founding rights and responsibilities to AP Vojvodina in 1961, and designated the Institute as Institute for Agricultural Research. In 1975, political structures in AP Vojvodina initiated the process of integrating all agriculture and forestry research institutions from the Novi Sad area into the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad; thereafter the Institute for Agricultural Research seized to be an independent research institution. In 1976, the Institute was renamed OOUR Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops i.e. OOUR Research and Educational Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops from 1986 to 1994, when the government of Republic of Serbia gave their consent to the separation of OOUR Research and Educational Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops from the Faculty of Agriculture Novi Sad and took over the founding rights over the Institute. In 1995, Institute’s name was changed into the Scientific Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops. During 2006, the Institute was accredited as a research and development institution, while in 2007 it received its present name – The Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops. In May 2018, the Institute became the National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, thanks to hard work and valuable results implemented into agricultural practices during the 87 years of work which brought the Institute international scientific recognition.

The main activity of the Institute is basic and applied research, aimed at development of cultivars and hybrids of field and vegetable crops, forage and industrial crops, medicinal plants, and spices. Institute’s fundamental activity has been divided among eight departments, two laboratories and two service-providing units.