CCAFS carried out household baseline surveys in all its benchmark sites in 2010/2011. This report presents a summary of the main results of the analysis of the survey carried out in late 2010/early 2011 in Bihta, Bihar, India. The survey used 140 randomly selected households, capturing social and economic indicators that would capture a portrait of livelihood conditions and farming systems precise enough to show changes over time with later visits.
Despite the importance of agriculture and livestock in the area, the adoption of new agricultural technologies has been low. Off-farm income is very important for the households, as many face a high degree of food insecurity for long periods. Off-farm collection of food, fodder and fuel is a common practice to supplement food insecurity.