Alcorn State University has sought to serve the needs of non-served and under-served, limited-resource farmers and rural residents throughout Mississippi. The Agricultural Research Program at Alcorn State University in general, is, therefore, designed to discover new knowledge and to provide solutions to problems confronting agricultural productivity and profitability. Although not limited to this scope, the primary mission of the research is to seek answers to problems of limited-resource rural dwellers in Southwest Mississippi. While specifically are geared toward assisting farmers in Southwest Mississippi, the research program at the Alcorn Experiment Station has statewide, national, and international significance.

The Alcorn Experiment Station (AES) was jointly established by Alcorn State University (ASU) and Mississippi State University (MSU) as a branch of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) by Act of the State Legislation in 1970. This legislation mandated ASU as a Land Grant Institution to conduct research in agriculture and provide cooperative extension services geared towards improving socioeconomic conditions and quality of life for limited resource farmers in Mississippi, the nation and the world.