Dated 4th November 2025
SIGMA Foundation has successfully completed Outcome Monitoring Survey of Bihar Sustainable Livelihood Development (BSLD) Project implemented by Heifer International through its partner, Passing Gifts Private Limited (PGPL). The project was launched in 2020 to enhance the livelihoods of 71,000 smallholder farmers—with a particular focus on women farmers—across 21 blocks in six districts of Bihar: Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Vaishali, and Muzaffarpur.
At its core, the project was built on two strategic pillars: a) Scientific goat management and sustainable market linkages to promote resilient, livestock-based livelihoods; and b) Climate-smart agricultural practices to increase productivity while fostering environmental sustainability.
The independent evaluation was conducted over a six-month period, adopted a mixed-methods research approach. It involved a quantitative survey of 1,458 farmers and extensive qualitative assessments through 36 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and over 90 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). Stakeholders consulted ranged from district and block-level administrators to agriculture university experts, veterinary officers, and community-based organization leaders—offered a comprehensive view of the project’s multidimensional impact. The evaluation was anchored in the OECD-DAC framework, examining the project’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability.
The outcome of this evaluation helped to identify the status of outcomes of the interventions like increase in income, food security, participation of women in decision making of the household, adoption of climate smart practices in terms of Global Index of Heifer International and relevant Project Specific Indicators (PSIs) covering various aspects of the interventions like advanced goat management practices, market linkage through FPOs, training through Farmer Field School, fodder cultivation, performance of the entrepreneurs to provide support to the farmers etc. Based on the study findings, SIGMA Foundation provided a set of short-term and long-term recommendations to help Heifer International refine its future interventions and scale up the unique model across Bihar and beyond.
Two comprehensive evaluation reports and a concise summary brief have been submitted to Heifer International, encapsulating field findings, data-driven insights, and actionable recommendations for policy and program design.