ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres

What this institute is for

ICAR-CRIJAF does research on jute and allied fibre crops. Its work is research, seed development, technology licensing and farmer-facing training. It is a research institute of ICAR, not a startup incubator or a funding programme.

Where the work sits

• Four research stations: sunnhemp at Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, ramie at Sorbhog in Assam, sisal at Bamra in Odisha, and a central seed research station at Budbud in West Bengal.
• Two Krishi Vigyan Kendras under the institute's administrative control, at Budbud in Burdwan district and on the Barrackpore campus.

How organisations work with it

• Private firms work with the institute through technology licensing of seed varieties and machines.
• Farmer-facing training and skilling run through the KVKs.
• The institute's public contact is the director's office.

ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres (ICAR-CRIJAF) is a research institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research working on jute and allied fibre crops. It is situated at Nilganj, Barrackpore in West Bengal, about six kilometres from Barrackpore railway station and roughly twenty kilometres from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum. Its role is research and technology development to make jute and allied fibre farming profitable and sustainable.

What it works on

The institute works on jute and allied fibre crops within ICAR's crop science area. Its research stations are organised around individual fibre crops and around seed. It is listed under agricultural sciences, life sciences and biotechnology. It is a research body rather than a startup incubator or a university. What its public work describes is research, seed development, technology licensing and farmer-facing training.

Research stations and KVKs

ICAR-CRIJAF has four research stations. The Sunnhemp Research Station is at Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh. The Ramie Research Station is at Sorbhog in Assam. The Sisal Research Station is at Bamra in Odisha. The Central Seed Research Station for Jute and Allied Fibres is at Budbud in West Bengal. Two Krishi Vigyan Kendras sit under the institute's administrative control, one at Budbud in Burdwan district and one on the Barrackpore campus.

Technology licensing

Reports in 2025 describe a five-year technology licence agreement between ICAR-CRIJAF and a private seed company for the commercial production and marketing of the certified jute seed variety JROBA-3. Reports in 2024 record firms commercialising institute technologies exchanging memoranda for the commercialisation of a tractor-drawn jute seeder and a jute ribboner. These are industry licences, not programmes a founder applies to.

Training and campus facilities

In January 2024 the Director General of ICAR opened a new administrative building for the institute's KVK at Barrackpore. A report on the event records a skill development centre, a fibre museum and an exhibition hall, along with training for women's self-help groups in jute diversified products. This work sits with the KVKs rather than with a startup programme.

Who runs it

ICAR-CRIJAF is a unit of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, working under its crop science area. It is reported to have been established in 1953 as the Jute Agricultural Research Institute. Its main campus is at Nilganj, Barrackpore, with stations in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha and West Bengal.