Impacts of Community Seed Banks on Seed Security and Food Access Outcomes in Ethiopia: A Multinomial Logit Analysis

Impacts of Community Seed Banks on Seed Security and Food Access Outcomes in Ethiopia: A Multinomial Logit Analysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Impacts of Community Seed Banks on Seed Security and Food Access Outcomes in Ethiopia: A Multinomial Logit Analysis Mary Eyeniyeh Ngaiwi, Alexander Buritica, Carolina Gonzalez, Dejene Kassahun Mengistu, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7527176/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Discover Sustainability → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Community Seedbanks (CSBs) have emerged as a vital grassroots intervention for enhancing seed security and food resilience, particularly in conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable regions. This study empirically evaluates the impact of CSBs on seed use and household food access in three districts of Ethiopia’s Tigray and Amhara regions, utilizing primary data from 393 smallholder households. Employing logit and multinomial logistic regression models, the analysis reveals that proximity to a well-established CSB, especially the Wakaye seed bank, significantly increases the likelihood of seed use and improves both food access and diversity in the number of food groups consumed in a 24hr interval. Key determinants of seed use include household engagement in livestock production, labor intensity, and participation in nutrition training programs, while older farmers are less likely to adopt CSB seeds. Food security outcomes vary by seed bank, with Wakaye outperforming others due to its institutional maturity and seed quality. The findings highlight the critical role of CSBs in sustaining agricultural productivity and nutritional well-being under socio-political instability and climate stress. Policy recommendations emphasize strengthening CSB institutional capacity, expanding farmer educational programs, and integrating CSBs within national agricultural frameworks to scale their contributions to resilient and diversified food systems. Community seed banks food access food group diversity smallholder Farmers agricultural resilience climate resilience Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Apr, 2026 Read the published version in Discover Sustainability → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 07 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 14 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 06 Oct, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 13 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7527176","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":530790291,"identity":"bb974fa9-1697-4da6-b36c-14e3a5058a03","order_by":0,"name":"Mary Eyeniyeh 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Analysis","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Community seed banks, food access, food group diversity, smallholder Farmers, agricultural resilience, climate resilience","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7527176/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7527176/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCommunity Seedbanks (CSBs) have emerged as a vital grassroots intervention for enhancing seed security and food resilience, particularly in conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable regions. 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