Contribution of Community Seed Banks to farmer seed systems and food security in Northern and Central Malawi

• CSBs are an important seed source for participants in Malawi. • Participating in CSBs is associated with higher food security compared to non-participants with similar socioeconomic status. • Past exposure to rainfall shortages and high temperatures is associated with a higher propensity to participate in CSBs. Community Seed Banks (CSBs) are promoted as an approach to support farmers’ access to quality seeds of adapted varieties. While the adoption and impact of varieties distributed through conventional formal seed systems have been extensively studied, research on how participation in CSBs relates to farmers’ seed systems and food security is limited. This paper uses survey data covering 688 households and 1600 plots from Northern and Central Malawi, combined with historical climate data, to assess the extent to which farmers are utilizing CSBs as a seed source and the association of farmer participation in CSBs with a range of other foods system variables. We find that CSBs are the source of about 1/3 of the seeds of maize, groundnut, and soyabean used by the participants and that they source less of their seeds from their own harvest compared to non-participants. While the use of CSB seeds of different crops shows mixed associations with yields at the plot-level, we find that CSB participation is positively associated with higher household food security overall. Furthermore, we find a positive association between exposure to high mean temperatures and rainfall shortages and the propensity to participate in CSBs, suggesting CSBs play a role in adaptation. This study thus shows that CSB participation is associated with several positive food system outcomes, but more research is needed to understand the causal links as well as the efficiency of CSBs compared to other approaches to strengthen farmers’ seed security.