All India Network Project on Jute and Allied Fibres previously known as All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Jute & Allied Fibres was sanctioned and implemented by ICAR in October, 1967 and the Project started functioning from its headquarters at JARI, Barrackpore, West Bengal. For a brief period during early seventies the Project functioned from ICAR-National Institute of Research for Jute and Allied Fibres Technology, Kolkata but from April, 1974 it was again shifted to its present location at ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres. The AICRP structure was modified as All India Network Project on Jute and Allied Fibres in year 2004.
Initially (1969), four centres viz, Jute Research Station, Nagaon, Assam; Jute Research Station, Katihar, Bihar; Jute Research Station, Bahraich, UP and Agricultural Research Station, Amadalavalasa, Telangana (for mesta) participated. Subsequently, four centres namely, Jute Research Station, Kendrapara, Odisha (1970); TRRI, Aduthurai, T.N. (1972); UBKV, Coochbehar (1974), BKCV, Kalyani (1974) W.B. added to this programme.
Three sub-stations of CRIJAF viz., Sunnhemp Research Station, Pratapgarh, UP; Ramie Research Station, Sorbhog, Assam and Sisal Research Station, Bamra, Odisha were also entrusted to take up research on respective crops from 1970-71.
Biology and Agriculture Division, Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Trombay and Indian Jute Industries Research Association, Kolkata collaborated with this Project since mid-seventies. Both the organizations contributed significantly in developing and testing varieties.
During the latter part of the IVth Plan, one centre started functioning at Himachal Pradesh Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya, Palampur (HP) for fibre flax but the work on flax was taken off from the purview of this Project and shifted to All India Coordinated Research Project on Linseed in April, 1990. One new centre at Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Maharashtra was sanctioned by ICAR in the VIIIth Plan for strengthening research on mesta, sunnhemp and jute seed production which started functioning from 1993.