Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV), Raipur is Chhattisgarh’s principal state agricultural university, established on 20 January 1987 to integrate agricultural education, research and extension for the region. The university inherited a much older institutional and research tradition in Raipur. Agricultural experimentation at Labhandi Farm dates to 1903, while the College of Agriculture at Raipur was established in 1961 and became a constituent college of Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya in 1964. Rice research became particularly important in the region: a Rice Research Station developed during the 1960s, and the Madhya Pradesh Rice Research Institute was established in 1974 under noted rice scientist R.H. Richharia. A zonal agricultural research station followed in 1979. IGKV brought these strands together under a university specifically focused on the agricultural conditions of the area that later became the state of Chhattisgarh. Its mandate combines teaching with location-specific research and transfer of technology to farmers. Academic work covers agriculture and allied disciplines, while the university’s research network addresses crops, natural resources, plant improvement, protection, production systems and farming conditions across different agro-climatic zones. Extension is a central part of the institution’s identity, linking scientists and students with farming communities through demonstrations, training, field programmes and advisory activity. After the creation of Chhattisgarh in 2000, IGKV’s statewide importance increased as it became central to agricultural human-resource development and research within the new state. The university is especially associated with rice-based farming systems, reflecting Chhattisgarh’s agricultural character, but its work extends to diversified crops and sustainable resource management. By combining historical research infrastructure with university-level education and farmer-oriented extension, IGKV serves as a major knowledge institution for agricultural development, rural livelihoods and region-specific innovation in Chhattisgarh. Its long agricultural research lineage makes the university an important repository of regional crop knowledge, germplasm, field experience and scientific expertise relevant to Chhattisgarh’s farmers.