​After the East Anatolian Agricultural Research Institute had been established as Agricultural Research Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture in 1969, the Institute was reorganized different times, latest it was reorganized as a Regional  Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs named the East Anatolian Agricultural Research Institute in 1987.  Turkey has been divided in to five main regions aimed to cover all requirements according to ecological characteristics in the latest regulation.  The East Anatolian Agricultural Research Institute is charged to do researches in the East Anatolia Agricultural Research and Extension Region which has cold weather. The Institute is responsible to do researches to solve farmer problems in the four different agro-ecological zones of this cold climate zone. Erzincan, Erzurum, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, Ağrı, Tunceli, Bingöl, Muş, Bitlis, Van, Hakkari, Siirt and high altitude areas of Şırnak in the east, Kars, Ardahan, Artvin (high altitude areas) in the north-east, midlands of Rize, Trabzon and Giresun, high altitude areas of  Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Malatya and Elazığ in the south-east, Iğdır and Artvin (Çoruh Valley) in the microclimate zone provinces are taken place inside of the Institute responsible area.