Cambodia Development Review   30 - 1

Women-Led Groups as Pathways to Women’s Empowerment and One Health Practices in Cambodian Agriculture


Published: 14-Aug-2026
Keyword: Women’s empowerment, women-led groups, One Health, agriculture, Cambodia
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Abstract/Summary

Women play a vital role in Cambodian agriculture, yet their leadership, decision-making power, access to knowledge, and adoption of One Health (OH) practices remain constrained. Women-led groups (WLGs) have emerged as community-based platforms to promote women’s empowerment, collective action, and knowledge sharing, but empirical evidence of their impacts remains limited. This study examines how WLG participation contributes to women farmers’ empowerment, agricultural knowledge, and adoption of OH practices, while exploring the differentiated roles of WLG leaders and members. Using data from the Agricultural-based Growth and Resilience Opportunities for Women (AGROW) project impact evaluation, the study applies a mixed-methods approach combining Difference-in-Differences (DiD) analysis of baseline and endline data from 254 women—138 WLG participants and 116 non-participants—with qualitative evidence from five key informant interviews, eight focus group discussions, and nine in-depth interviews. The findings show that WLG participation significantly enhances women’s empowerment and contributes to improvements in agricultural knowledge and selected OH practices. Qualitative evidence indicates that WLGs facilitate peer-to-peer learning, with leaders serving as local knowledge intermediaries. Overall, WLGs demonstrate strong potential to advance women’s empowerment, knowledge diffusion, and sustainable agricultural and OH practices in rural Cambodia.




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