Shanxi Institute of Organic Dryland Farming is a new directly affiliated research institution organized by Shanxi Agricultural University and Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences merged with the former Institute of Dryland Farming and the Modern Agriculture Research Center of the Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The institute mainly carries out basic research, applied basic research, technology development work of technology innovation, dryland water saving application and integration of technology and machine, drought-resistant germplasm resource research and breeding, and agricultural waste recycling use. The institute has the provincial key disciplines of "Agricultural Ecology", "Dryland Water Saving Agricultural Technology Research and Innovation Team" (Ministry of Agriculture), and "Dryland Water Saving Farming Crops Efficient Water Use of Shanxi Province Science and Technology Innovation Key Team". The institute has the platforms of "Dryland Water Saving Technology National Local Joint Engineering Laboratory on East of the Loess Plateau", "Shanxi Key Laboratory of Organic Dryland Farming", and "Jinzhong Observation Experiment of National Agricultural Environment". The institute is completely supporting Shanxi agricultural university to apply "State Key Laboratory of Sustainable Dryland Agriculture".

There are 63 full time staff, including 10 professors, 17 associate professors, and 12 master tutors. 16 staff members have doctoral degree, 23 have master degrees.  There is 1 recipient of "Shanxi Province Emerging Industry Talents", 1 elected "Academic Technology Leaders of Shanxi Province", 1 nominated as "Young Talent of Shanxi Province” and 3 elected as "Sanjin Scholars” in Shaanxi. The institute has 4 management departments of party and government offices, a scientific research management office, a social service office and financial assets division, and 8 research divisions of Dryland water saving and equipment, conservation tillage, drought-resistant physiology and ecology, molecular breeding, germplasm improvement, functional microbes, biomass utilization and environmental observation experiment, and instruments and equipment in total worth more than 30 million yuan, 3 fixed experiment demonstration bases, and the "Organic Dryland Farming Popular Science Education Base" accredited by the association for science and technology in Shanxi Province.

Since the 13th Five-Year Plan, the institute has 134 national, provincial, and ministerial projects, 2 first, 3 second, 2 third-place scientific and technological progress prizes in Shanxi province, and 2 first-place prizes of Shanxi province’s rural technical contract, 2 abroad invention patents, and 75 national patents (16 invention patents), 121 theses (7 SCI, 12 the first level journal), 7 local standards of Shanxi province, 13 new varieties of Shanxi province, 3 monographs edited or coedited, 2 appraisal or evaluation achievements, and 4 computer software copyrights. Therefore, the institute has the conditions and ability to carry out research and development projects related to organic dryland farming.