Litchi, a sub-tropical fruit crop, plays a crucial role in supporting rural livelihoods in Bihar, which contributes nearly three-fourths of India’s total litchi production. However, despite having considerable potential, its contribution to Bihar’s economy remains limited owing to structural inefficiencies and weak coordination among stakeholders in the litchi supply chain. The highly perishable nature of the fruit, inadequate infrastructure and fragmented stakeholder linkages further constrain its economic performance. Therefore, understanding stakeholder interactions is essential for strengthening supply chain governance. This study applies social network analysis (SNA) using the Net-Map methodology to examine the structure, roles, power relations and interconnections among key stakeholders in the litchi supply chain of Muzaffarpur district, Bihar. A symmetric square matrix was created to establish linkages among stakeholders, along with an influence-power matrix that was tabulated to evaluate their relative influence and strategic positioning. Centrality measures, including degree, closeness, betweenness and eigenvector centrality, were computed using Gephi software to identify dominant and intermediary actors. The findings reveal that pre-harvest contractors and growers occupy central and highly influential positions within the network, while institutional actors such as government agencies and research institutes remain moderately connected. Weak integration between institutional and primary actors limits innovation diffusion and coordinated market expansion. Strengthening stakeholder collaboration through targeted policy interventions and improved network connectivity can enhance efficiency, reduce post-harvest losses and expand export potential. The study demonstrates the importance of SNA as a diagnostic and policy-support tool for improving agricultural value chains and boosting farmers’ economic returns in Bihar.
