[1] NIA was created under Republic Act (RA) 3601 signed by President Diosdado Macapagal on June 22, 1963.

[5][6] NIA's forerunner was the Irrigation Division of the defunct Bureau of Public Works.

It was attached to the Department of Public Works, Transportation, and Communication under PD No.1, dated September 23, 1972.

70, Providing for the functions of the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, May 5, 2014.

[1][10] On April 25, 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte transferred back NIA to the Department of Agriculture by virtue of Executive Order No.