TAFSSA District Agrifood Systems Assessment in India 2023: Market Survey

TAFSSA (Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia) is a CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative aimed at advancing equitable access to sustainable healthy diets, enhancing farmers' livelihoods and resilience, and conserving natural resources such as land, air, and water across South Asia. The TAFSSA district agrifood systems assessment seeks to establish a robust, accessible, and integrated evidence base that connects farm production, market access, dietary patterns, climate risk responses, and natural resource management, with gender considerations integrated throughout. The assessment focuses on rural areas in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, utilizing a district-level, multi-year approach. Data collection took place between February and June 2023 in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India. The survey covered 50 villages in the district, focusing on formal and informal multi-vendor markets offering various food products within a 10-kilometer radius of the village centroid. The types of multi-vendor markets included village markets, weekly village markets, roadside/street markets, and wholesale markets (mandis). The survey employed pretested, structured questionnaires divided into three distinct modules: 1. Interview-Based Module: Collected data on vendor information, assortments of essential goods, availability, resilience, food sourcing, food wastage, and dimensions of access and protection. 2. Observation + Photo Module: Documented market information, infrastructure, and the quality, safety, and hygiene of the market. 3. Food List Module: Recorded the availability and prices of a comprehensive list of food items found at the location.