December 2024 | Policy note 1 Mapping energy use portfolios and household welfare in India Insights from farm and household surveys in Bihar and Jharkhand Farha Sufian, Muzna Alvi, and Ezaboo Beniwal December 2024 This is the first in a series of three policy notes on South Asia, drawing from intrahousehold surveys conducted in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. In this series we analyze the on- and off-farm energy use portfolio of rural households in the region, and the benefit streams from clean energy use. Introduction Energy use in India plays a critical role in shaping the country’s sustainable development trajectory, particularly in the context of the water-energy-food-environment nexus. As the world’s most populous nation with a rapidly growing economy, India faces significant challenges and opportunities in transitioning to cleaner and more efficient energy systems. The country’s energy access and use portfolio is closely linked to agricultural productivity, household well-being, and environmental sustainability, making it a key area for policy interventions. Access to clean and reliable energy is essential for improving food security, enhancing economic opportunities, and empowering marginalized communities, particularly women. However, India’s energy landscape is diverse, with rural areas heavily reliant on traditional energy sources like firewood and kerosene, while urban regions increasingly adopt modern energy technologies. The energy transition in India needs to go beyond increasing the use of renewable energy to addressing the disparities between regions and income groups to ensure that all households—especially those in rural and underserved areas—gain access to the benefits of cleaner and more efficient energy. This is the declared goal of the CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains, which explores synergies between water, energy, food, and environmental sustainability. By understanding how energy choices are linked to household activities, agricultural practices, and broader socioeconomic outcomes, this analysis contributes to the global discourse on sustainable development and the urgent need for integrated solutions that address the complex interdependence of these sectors. Policy note December 2024 | Policy note 2 Data The data for this study were collected through comprehensive primary surveys covering farm and household characteristics, conducted between December 2022 and February 2023 across three South Asian countries: India, Nepal, and Pakistan. This research effort was part of the CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains. In India, the focus was on two states with distinct socioeconomic and agricultural profiles: Bihar and Jharkhand. Bihar—a large agrarian state in the Ganga River Basin and located in the central- eastern part of the country—is characterized by high dependence on smallholder agriculture and traditional farming practices. In contrast, Jharkhand—a tribal state situated in eastern India—presents a more diverse economic landscape but also faces significant challenges in terms of agricultural development and energy access due to its remoteness. The analysis presented in this policy note draws on data collected from 2,185 farming households, selected from across the two states. The sample covers 15 districts in Bihar and 5 districts in Jharkhand. In Bihar the sample blocks and villages were randomly selected within the 15 districts covering all 4 agro-climatic zones in the state. In Jharkhand the sample was drawn purposively from a set of villages that were beneficiaries of a solar irrigation intervention, and a corresponding set of control villages. Energy Portfolio Composition Figure 1 compares the energy use for domestic purposes between farming households in Bihar and Jharkhand. Clear differences arise between the two regions, with households in Bihar much more likely to use modern or transitioning—and cleaner—energy sources. Bihar has made significant progress in the transition toward cleaner energy for cooking, with 63 percent of households using a combination of modern and traditional sources, such as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) alongside firewood or dung cakes. Despite this shift, close to 30 percent of households continue to exclusively use traditional, unclean sources of energy for cooking. In contrast, Jharkhand exhibits a stronger dependence on unclean sources, with 54 percent of households relying exclusively on traditional methods like firewood and dung cakes for cooking, while only 1 percent of households have adopted modern, clean sources such as LPG. Figure 1: Type of energy used for cooking and heating/lighting in Bihar and Jharkhand 29.2 53.6 7.4 17.2 62.9 45.3 37.1 65.1 7.8 1.1 55.6 17.7 - 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 Bihar Jharkhand Bihar Jharkhand C o o k in g H e a ti n g & Li g h ti n g Percent Traditional Transitioning Modern Source: India CGIAR NEXUS Gains survey December 2024 | Policy note 3 For heating and lighting, the majority of households in Bihar use clean energy sources, while households in Jharkhand are still in the transitioning phase. In Bihar, more than every second household in our sample reported using modern energy sources (for example, electricity, solar power, and batteries) for heating and lighting, and fewer than 10 percent reported relying on traditional, unclean sources. In contrast, Jharkhand’s energy transition is less advanced: over two-thirds of households rely on a combination of traditional and modern energy sources, while fewer than 20 percent exclusively use modern energy sources, a share roughly equal to those households dependent solely on traditional energy sources. While households in Bihar are more advanced in energy transition for domestic use, the picture is reversed for agricultural energy use. Figure 2 illustrates the distribution of energy sources used for agricultural irrigation among households in Bihar and Jharkhand. In Bihar, the majority of households rely on diesel or kerosene pumps for irrigation, while 40 percent have transitioned to cleaner energy sources, such as electric or solar pumps. In contrast, Jharkhand exhibits a higher adoption of electric or solar pumps, with 55.1 percent of households using these cleaner technologies. However, a significant portion of households in Jharkhand (25.9 percent) do not use pumps for irrigation, and nearly 19.1 percent continue to depend on diesel or kerosene pumps. Figure 2: Energy sources for agricultural irrigation in Bihar and Jharkhand In addition to differences in energy choices for irrigation, notable disparities exist in energy choices for other productive uses. Nearly 98 percent of households in Bihar use mechanization for land preparation, compared to only 66 percent in Jharkhand. While mechanization in sowing and harvesting remains low in both states, a significant difference persists in access to mechanized threshing: 80 percent of households in Bihar use machines, compared to just 48 percent in Jharkhand. Use of and access to clean energy sources is strongly linked to households’ wealth and income level; as adoption of new technologies often requires up-front investment, patterns may vary with household income level. Table 1 presents the percentage 4.5 56.3 39.2 25.9 19.1 55.1 - 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 Does not irrigate/use pumps Uses deisel/kerosene pumps Uses electric/solar pumps P e rc e n t Bihar Jharkhand Source: India CGIAR NEXUS Gains survey. December 2024 | Policy note 4 of households with access to four key energy services across wealth quintiles: (1) use of clean cooking fuel; (2) exclusive reliance on modern fuel for heating and lighting; (3) access to mechanized irrigation technology; and (4) access to mechanized threshers. As wealth increases, households tend to shift to cleaner, more efficient energy sources, consistent with the energy ladder model. Access to clean cooking fuel rises significantly, from 42 percent in the poorest quintile (Q1) to 82 percent in the wealthiest quintile (Q5), while modern lighting and heating fuel access increases from 32 percent to 54 percent. Access to mechanized irrigation (that is, water pumps) also rises significantly from lower-income households (78.4 percent in Q1) to nearly 94 percent among the wealthiest quintile (Q5), highlighting a statistically significant gap in access to agricultural productivity-enhancing technology. By contrast, access to threshers is relatively consistent across wealth levels, indicating that this particular technology may be more evenly distributed, potentially due to shared agricultural needs or targeted government programs. Table 1 Percent of Households with energy access by wealth quintile in Bihar and Jharkhand (combined) Wealth quintile Clean cooking fuel Modern lighting & heating fuel Mechanized irrigation Mechanized Threshers N Q1 42.0 32.1 78.4 70.0 436 Q2 60.0 40.5 86.0 70.6 422 Q3 64.0 40.6 90.8 67.2 436 Q4 66.3 45.3 91.5 67.5 424 Q5 82.0 54.4 93.9 70.7 423 P-value (Chi-squared test) 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.667 Note: Chi-squared test p-values indicate the statistical significance of the relationship between wealth quintile and energy access for each service. Source: Calculated by authors based on the India CGIAR NEXUS Gains survey Rural Energy Access and Household-level Outcomes Table 2 highlights the relationships between household energy choices and various household outcomes. Households that use clean cooking fuels report significantly higher Food Group Diversity Scores (FGDS) for women, indicating better dietary diversity, though no notable impact is seen on women's energy empowerment or workload. Exclusive use of modern fuels for heating and lighting is also significantly associated with higher food group diversity for women. Use of irrigation pumps is linked to increased women’s energy empowerment, but also correlates highly and significantly with more hours spent on agricultural and domestic chores, suggesting that while mechanization enhances women’s agency, it may also increase their labor burden. Finally, access to threshers is positively associated with both improved diet diversity and increased women’s agency in energy-related decisions, underscoring its broader social benefits for women. December 2024 | Policy note 5 Table 2. Associations between indicators of household energy choices and selected household outcomes Variable FGDS WEES Hours of agriculture work Hours of domestic work Uses clean cooking fuel (=1) 0.181*** -0.003 -0.160 -0.160 (0.07) (0.01) (0.15) (0.15) Only uses modern fuel for heating & lighting (=1) 0.107* -0.006 0.059 0.059 (0.06) (0.01) (0.13) (0.13) Uses mechanized irrigation technology (=1) 0.126 0.068*** 0.760*** 0.760*** (0.09) (0.02) (0.19) (0.19) Has access to threshers (=1) 0.169*** 0.027** -0.077 -0.077 (0.06) (0.01) (0.14) (0.14) Observations 1960 1773 1979 1,979 R-squared 0.12 0.22 0.15 0.12 Mean 4.12 0.50 2.59 2.97 Note: FGDS represents the number of food groups consumed by the primary woman in the last 24 hours; Women’s energy empowerment score (WEES) is a weighted score ranging from 0 to1 suggesting the extent of women’s agency in energy choices for domestic and productive use; Hours of agriculture work represents hours in a day spent by the primary woman on crop farming, horticulture, livestock rearing, etc.; Hours of domestic work represents hours in a day the primary woman spent on household chores, including cooking, cleaning, fetching water, etc. All regressions include controls for the characteristics of the primary household decision-maker, household characteristics, and community variables. Standard errors are in parentheses. ***Significant at the 0.01 level; **significant at the 0.05 level; *significant at the 0.1 level. Source: Calculated by authors based on the India CGIAR NEXUS Gains survey. Conclusion This study investigates the energy portfolio choices of households in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand, focusing on how reliance on various energy sources influences household outcomes. In these two rural eastern Indian states, the household and farm energy portfolio reflects a complex interplay of traditional and modern energy sources, shaped by socioeconomic factors and infrastructure variations across regions. Traditional energy sources such as biomass, firewood, and cow dung remain predominant, particularly in more remote and less accessible areas, while modern energy alternatives like electricity, solar power, biogas, and LPG are gradually being adopted in regions with better infrastructure. Bihar is more advanced in adopting modern, clean energy for domestic use, while Jharkhand remains in transition, relying more on traditional sources. However, Jharkhand leads in using clean energy for agricultural irrigation, as Bihar continues to depend on diesel pumps. Wealth significantly influences access to clean energy and mechanized technologies, with wealthier households having better access. Clean energy adoption is linked to improved dietary diversity and greater women’s agency, though mechanization can also increase women’s labor burden. These findings underscore the need for policies that promote equitable access to clean energy and address regional disparities to support sustainable development and empowerment in rural India. As such, this policy note aims to inform policymakers in designing more effective interventions to foster sustainable and equitable energy access in rural communities. https://cgspace.cgiar.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/f6835540-eecc-443c-b7e9-6ee9eb0b1792/content https://cgspace.cgiar.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/f6835540-eecc-443c-b7e9-6ee9eb0b1792/content Farha Sufian, Independent Consultant, farha.deba.sufian@gmail.com Muzna Alvi, Research Fellow, m.alvi@cgiar.org Ezaboo Beniwal, Research Analyst, e.beniwal@cgiar.org CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to transforming food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. Its research is carried out by 13 CGIAR Centers/Alliances in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations, and the private sector. www.cgiar.org The CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains works at the critical intersection of food, energy, and water security while preserving the ecosystems underlying food systems in selected transboundary river basins. cgiar.org/initiative/nexus-gains Disclaimer: This publication has been prepared as an output of the CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains and has not been independently peer reviewed. Responsibility for editing, proofreading, and layout, opinions expressed and any possible errors lies with the authors and not the institutions involved. We would like to thank all funders who support this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund: www.cgiar.org/funders. To learn more about this and other Initiatives in the CGIAR Research Portfolio, please visit www.cgiar.org/cgiar-portfolio © 2024 International Food Policy Research Institute. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC by 4.0). | | | mailto:emailaddress@cgiar.org mailto:m.alvi@cgiar.org mailto:e.beniwal@cgiar.org http://www.cgiar.org/ http://www.cgiar.org/funders http://www.cgiar.org/cgiar-portfolio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://twitter.com/CGIAR?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor https://www.facebook.com/onecgiar/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cgiar https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYuSEwWKAsoNwg6MJEI-qeA