LightCastle Presents Findings of Impact Study for USAID’s RDC Project’s Gender Integration Activities

LightCastle Partners recently hosted a closing ceremony for ACDI/VOCA, for an impact assessment study on USAID’s Feed the Future Rice and Diversified Crops (RDC) project’s Gender Integration Activities. The event, which was held on November 22, aimed at sharing the project’s learnings and the findings, which were presented to officials and dignitaries from ACDI/VOCA, USAID, and other development partners.

On behalf of LightCastle, Ivdad Ahmed Khan Mojlish, Managing Director of LightCastle Partners presented the findings at the event. Cuan Opperman, Chief of Party at ACDI/VOCA, Team Leader, support market systems, and social inclusion were among the speakers at the event.

The objective of the study was to capture the contribution of the project to creating gender equality and women empowerment in the agriculture sector. Among the top findings of this study, it was found that the intervention activities contributed to significantly increasing the participation of the women in economic activities and as such increased their participation in household decision-making and leadership roles. The study also uncovered opportunities for incorporating digital financial services, blended financing, and increasing the digital literacy of these beneficiaries for future interventions.

The detailed findings drawn from this study as well as the way forward will soon be published as a report.