The Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) was established on June 5, 1975, with the vision of a closer collaboration among plant breeders and scientists of applied disciplines, and strong research and administrative staff equipped with excellent facilities. It was founded under the then College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines at Los Baños, by virtue of Presidential Decree 729.

A year after, the National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory (NPGRL) was established within IPB as the national center for germplasm collection and maintenance of important and potentially useful agricultural crops through P.D. 1046-A.

Since then, IPB has been at the forefront of plant breeding research and applications. With the enactment of R.A. 7308, otherwise known as the Seed Industry Development Act of 1992, IPB was identified as the lead agency for crop biotechnology research.