JEEViKA Special Purpose Vehicle for Agriculture Transformation (JSPVAT) Fisheries support to the Government of Bihar

• Aug 4, 2025
• 2 min

MSC is supporting the Government of Bihar to promote sustainable, gender-inclusive aquaculture by enabling women’s participation in this diversified livelihood stream.

Through the JSPVAT initiative, the program aims to improve the livelihoods, nutrition, and empowerment of fisherwomen and men, particularly women’s self-help groups (WSHGs) and smallholders. Despite aquaculture’s strong potential, women continue to face structural barriers, limited market access, and constrained roles beyond production.

To address these challenges, MSC conducted in-depth research to assess women’s empowerment within aquaculture households. Based on these insights, we co-designed a suite of interventions which included:

• Layered trainings on fisheries, gender, and nutrition 
• Ecosystem development for improved inputs
• Financial access through schemes and funds
• Gender-intentional policy recommendations
• Social and behavior change tools to shift gender norms around women’s roles in aquaculture, intra-household decision-making, and attitudes towards market-facing roles.

Through the program, 88% of Women Fish Producer Group (WFPG) members and 82% of private pond owners have adopted advanced aquaculture practices, leading to a 33% increase in pond productivity for WFPGs. Additionally, over 96% of WFPG members now actively participate in household decisions, particularly in selecting and preparing meals, which has improved access to nutritious fish-based diets. The program has empowered women economically, with 30% of women in treatment households becoming sole decision-makers in commercial aquaculture activities, a substantial increase from the control group. These efforts have not only boosted incomes and food security but also contributed to greater gender equality within the sector. This model has immense potential for replicability.

The project was commissioned by the Gates Foundation.