Community Seed Banks Deliver Social Cohesion and Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected, Climate-Vulnerable Agricultural Contexts: A Study from Northern Ethiopia
Publisher: CGIAR
Author(s): Mary Eyeniyeh Ngaiwi, Alexander Buritica, Carolina Gonzalez, Carlo Fadda, Elena Garcia-Conejero, and Augusto Carlos Castro-Nunez
Date: 2026
Topics: Climate Change, Renewable Resources
Countries: Ethiopia
Sub-Saharan Africa’s rural communities are increasingly exposed to the compound pressures of climate variability and armed conflict, which erode livelihoods, disrupt institutions, and weaken social cohesion. Community Seed Banks (CSBs), initially designed to conserve agrobiodiversity and improve seed access, are increasingly functioning as grassroots institutions with broader social roles that strengthen social resilience and support peacebuilding, although evidence linking CSB participation to measurable social outcomes remains limited. This study employed a three-stage least squares (3SLS) estimation to investigate how CSBs influence six social cohesion dimensions—trust, unity, communication flow, social interaction, conflict resolution, and perceived security—in three conflict-affected, climate-vulnerable rural communities (Ayba, Melfa, Wakaye) in northern Ethiopia. Using original survey data from 393 households, we identify significant but differentiated effects of CSB membership and related covariates. Results suggest that CSB affiliation in Ayba and Wakaye correlates with higher trust and improved communication, interpersonal interaction, and conflict resolution capacity compared with Melfa. Household head employment correlates with weaker social cohesion across five dimensions; infrastructure variables (piped water access) foster interpersonal interactions, while internet connectivity trades off improved unity and communication for weaker trust, interaction, and perceived security. Land tenure effects are selective, with leased farmland linked to higher perceived security and shared tenure associated with stronger communication flows. These findings posit that, as locally rooted institutions, CSBs contribute to community-led adaptation, peacebuilding, and social cohesion, beyond mere seed conservation. Jointly conserving agrobiodiversity, enhancing seed access, and addressing climate vulnerability can foster social cohesion, making CSBs strategic for linking ecological, agricultural, and nutrition sustainability with social stability and peacebuilding.). By bridging environmental peacebuilding frameworks with critical political ecology, scholars and practitioners can begin to conceptualize CSBs as pivotal grassroots mechanisms at the intersection of climate adaptation, agrobiodiversity governance, and peacebuilding.