Founded in 1953 by Fr. William Masterson, S.J., the college had been established to address the gaping discrepancy between production and consumption capacities of grassroots communities through its fourfold mission of Instruction, Research, Extension and Production.  It is the only Catholic College of Agriculture in the Philippines and the second oldest agriculture college in Mindanao. 

The college opened with only Crop Science and Animal Science courses.  Gradually, it expanded to include Agricultural Economics in 1964, Food Technology, Agricultural Engineering and Development Communication in the 70s, and finally, Agribusiness in 1997.

Providing training for its students and extension services to marginalized sectors, various institutions have been founded by the college and in fact, the college has a separate arm in charge of its outreach units. 

It started its volunteer extension program in 1959 which later developed into the Year of Service (YOS) in 1990.  In the 1980s, it established the Institute of Market Analysis (IMA), Food Technology Center, Appropriate Technology Center, MinCARRD, and the XU-ANEC.  It was also then that the college put up MIDAS Farm, now MEDAS Farm, which is a demonstration diversified farm that could sustain a self-sufficient household. 

The college takes advantage of alternative and new technologies, making these work for those sectors in need of help.  The PeriUrban Vegetable Garden, now an institute adopted by the local government, the Sustainable Agriculture Center, Cooperative Business Institute, put up to offer training and technical services to community cooperatives, were all started in the 1990s.  And just recently, the college launched its Geo Informatics Center which uses a geographic information system to identify potential extension areas, as well as map the social needs of communities.

Together with its competence in Rodeo events – the XU Rodeo team, composed mostly of Aggie students, has been winning the overall championship in the Rodeo Masbateño since 2007 – associated with muck and mire, the college proves its excellence in research and academics.  Its Agricultural Engineering graduates topped have been topping the board exam in the early 1990s and recently, in 2007.  Just this year, the college has been declared as a Center of Development by the Commission on Higher Education.