Seeds of Change: How Aid, Development and Peace are Linked in South Sudan
South Sudan is a country defined by resilience amid fragility. Farmers face a landscape of repeated floods, mass displacement of people because of recurrent conflicts, and persistent food insecurity. For over 15 years, and at a cost of over $1 billion humanitarian agencies have distributed imported seeds throughout the country as a way to simultaneously reduce food insecurity and dependency on food aid, whilst promoting agricultural growth. However, As farmer Marko Gifridi puts it:
“I used to get seeds from the local NGOs, but unfortunately, the seeds are being imported from outside. The yield is not good, while others don’t germinate.”
South Sudan’s experience is not unique. Across the world’s most fragile states, emergency aid tends to address the immediate crisis but leave the underlying problems untouched, or can even distort the development of markets. Relief organisations, development agencies and peace-keepers often work separately, each solving a piece of the puzzle without joining them up. Linking these three worlds is what the Humanitarian‑Development‑Peace (HDP) nexus is about. By integrating immediate relief with long-term development and peacebuilding, interventions can improve lives, strengthen markets and promote stability at the same time.
The A3SEED programme
Over the past five years, KIT Institute has partnered with IFDC and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to implement the A3SEED programme, which sought to transform South Sudan’s seed sector and strengthen domestic seed production and market. Working with 9 local seed companies, networks of agro-dealers, and farming communities, A3SEED promoted a private-sector-led approach that bridges humanitarian and development objectives.
“South Sudan has been flooded with international seed-aid for more than 15 years, but mass distribution of imported and free seeds has not boosted the productivity of South Sudanese farmers, which remains the lowest in East Africa.” — Dr. Nicola Francesconi, Senior Advisor, KIT Institute
The A3SEED programme demonstrated that farmers who accessed seeds from domestic companies have more than doubled their yields by 2023, with gains continuing through 2025 —from 483 kg/ha in 2021 to 1,429 kg/ha by 2025, against 973 kg/ha for farmers outside the project. This was measured through a Randomised Control Trial across 200 farm-households. Households adopting local and commercial seeds also reported better food security and more diverse diets. Yet systemic challenges remain: overall seed production and commercialisation are still limited within South Sudan, and humanitarian agencies continue to procure seeds from abroad and distribute them throughout South Sudan.
“As a country, we need to reposition agriculture to where it belongs – that is, at the centre of our economic activity. Agriculture must become the engine of economic development…” — Hon. Josephine Lagu, Ministry of Agriculture in South Sudan.
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Learning event connecting farmers with seed companies
Rethinking seed aid
The most consequential shift still to be made is in how seed aid itself is procured. By localising seed aid procurement, humanitarian agencies could purchase high-quality seeds from within South Sudan, strengthening domestic supply chains while meeting immediate needs. Technical support and market linkages enable local seed companies to produce, test, and distribute seeds effectively, ensuring farmers have timely access.
“We want to improve the seeds that are available in SouthSudan. We want to add value to the products the farmers are creating.” — Nelson Barnaba, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment
The project illustrates that resilience is not just about survival—it is about creating systems that empower communities, enhance productivity, and reinforce stability. By working at the HDP nexus, A3SEED demonstrates how humanitarian relief can evolve into sustainable development, reducing dependency on imports and building local capacity.
Scaling systemic change
Looking ahead, scaling these gains will require coordinated reforms: establishing national seed quality control and certification systems, expanding localised procurement, and strengthening distribution networks to reach the most vulnerable farmers. We remain committed to advancing such approaches, blending research, technical expertise, and partnership to inform global thinking on fragile contexts.
Contact
For more information on the A3SEED project or HDP nexus initiatives, please contact our advisor Nicola Francesconi
