Meanwhile, the Institute of Irrigated Agriculture NAAS traces its origins back to 1889, when the Kherson Provincial Assembly established an experimental field at the Kherson Agricultural School. In 1910, that site became the Kherson Agricultural Research Station, later evolving into the Cotton Institute. With the introduction of large‑scale irrigation in southern Ukraine in 1956, it was reorganized into the Ukrainian Research Institute of Irrigated Farming; in 2000 it became the Institute of Farming of the Southern Region under the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences; in 2011, it took the name Institute of Irrigated Agriculture of the NAAS; and in 2022, it was transformed into the Institute of Climate‑Smart Agriculture of NAAS. The Institute continues collaborating with multiple scientific institutions across Ukraine.

The Rice Institute of NAAS was originally founded in 1932 as a cotton‑based experimental station attached to the Skadovsk Cotton State Farm № 1, part of the Ukrainian Research Cotton Institute. On June 11, 1963, this experimental site officially became the Rice Seeding Research Station. In 2010, it was reorganized into the Rice Institute of NAAS. Scientists at the Rice Institute have developed and implemented advanced agromeliorative measures for soil fertility preservation and innovative water‑efficient irrigation methods. They are working on an economically sound, competitive development model for Ukrainian rice‑growing farms. Over the years, the Institute’s researchers have developed and submitted over 40 new rice varieties for state testing, of which 14 have been approved and included in the State Register of Plant Varieties of Ukraine.

The Southern State Agricultural Research Station of the Institute of Water Problems and Reclamation NAAS was established in 1969 as the Kherson Breeding Experimental Station of Melons and Vegetables. According to the Presidium of the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences, in 2001 it was transformed into the Institute of Southern Vegetable and Melon Growing UAAS, a leading sectoral research body in Ukraine’s melon crop industry. In 2011, it was reorganized into the Southern State Agricultural Research Station of the Institute of Water Problems and Reclamation NAAS. Researchers conduct adaptive breeding of vegetable and melon crops to create new varieties and hybrids suited to all regions of Ukraine, taking into account maturity time, resistance to cold and heat, pests and diseases, drought, and other stressors. They have created over 40 varieties and several hybrid types of melons and vegetables, and developed technology for ultra‑early production of watermelons, melons, and zucchini. In collaboration with the Institute of Gerontology (AMS of Ukraine) and the Medvedi Institute of Eco‑hygiene and Toxicology, they developed guidelines for producing eco‑safe, biologically valuable watermelon and pumpkin products suitable for dietary and health‑promoting nutrition. On this basis, they have created a range of functional, health‑beneficial, therapeutic, and preventive food products.

Under Ukraine’s innovative agricultural development, the Institute of Climate‑Smart Agriculture of NAAS focuses on:

• Developing methods for agro‑landscape management to create climate‑optimized land‑ and water‑use systems;

• Researching and developing modern climate‑oriented intensive, resource‑saving, organic, and innovative technologies for growing agricultural crops (including niche, energy, and medicinal crops) on both irrigated and rainfed lands;

• Scientifically validating the introduction of new agricultural species and the re‑introduction of regionally indigenous species to adapt them to current Ukrainian conditions;

• Conducting breeding research to produce climate‑resilient varieties and hybrids, maintaining primary and elite seed production for high‑quality seed propagation;

• Studying greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration in crop systems under various farming regimes on irrigated and non‑irrigated lands using low‑carbon cultivation technologies;

• Providing climate‑oriented technological guidance for crop and livestock production and processing, as implemented across diverse soil‑climatic zones of Ukraine;

• Creating high‑yield rice varieties with strong disease resistance, along with resource‑efficient cultivation technologies;

• Drafting and refining legal and regulatory frameworks to support state policies in climate‑oriented agriculture and combating climate change and desertification;

• Developing organizational and economic mechanisms for managing irrigated and rainfed lands, adapted to socially‑oriented market relations;

• Training highly qualified specialists for Ukraine’s agriculture, research institutions, and higher education;

• Providing scientific support and advisory services to farming enterprises in climate‑oriented operations.

The Institute’s developments constitute the scientific‑technical foundation for irrigated agriculture in Ukraine. Its researchers contribute to developing agrarian and grain farming strategies in Kherson region, Ukraine’s forage production planning, and publish recommendations, directories, the inter‑departmental thematic collection “Irrigated Farming,” and the scientific journal “Agrarian Innovations.”

Higher education training is available in two specializations: Agronomy (201) and Economics (051).

PhD programs are offered full‑time (day and evening) and by correspondence. They include theoretical knowledge, practical competences for ideation, problem‑solving, methodology of scientific and pedagogical activity, and conducting research with substantive novelty and significance.

Doctoral programs aim to finalize scientific research, prepare publications, and achieve the degree of Doctor of Sciences.

Annually, 17–25 PhD students and 3–5 doctoral students are enrolled. The Institute cultivates academic personnel for both its own needs and for external educational and research institutions.

As of October 1, 2022, the Institute employed 172 staff members, including 97 research staff—18 Doctors of Agricultural Sciences (4 part‑time), among them 2 NAAS Academicians—and 29 Candidates of Agricultural Sciences.

The Institute of Climate‑Oriented Agriculture of NAAS and its experimental network are currently engaged in 59 research tasks under NAAS State Scientific Programs, including (but not limited to):
“Soil Resources of Ukraine: Information Support, Rational Use, Technology Management”; “Systems of Farming and Land Use”; “Flexible Technological Processes and Their Technical Provision”; “Irrigated Agriculture”; “Agro‑space”; “Biocontrol”; “Grain, Groat, Grain‑Legume Crops”; “Biotechnology and Genetics in Plant Production”; “Grain Production Systems”; “Sunflower”; “Plant Genetic Resources”; Vegetables & Melons; Potato Growing; Fruit & Ornamental Horticulture; Plant Protection; Forage Production; Bio‑energy Resources; Agricultural Economics; Innovative Development; Innovative Bio‑economy.