Capital Constraints and Agricultural Technology Lock-In: Why Modern Inputs Remain Out of Reach for CGSL-Financed Smallholders in South Sudan

This article examines how capital constraints create agricultural technology lock-in among smallholders who rely on Community Group Saving and Lending (CGSL) mechanisms in Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei and Lakes States, South Sudan. While CGSLs expand access to savings and short-term credit in areas where formal financial institutions are absent or reluctant to operate, the central problem is that modern agricultural inputs remain capital-intensive, seasonal and risky. The study employed a mixed-methods design involving 85 administered questionnaires, 81 valid survey responses and 17 qualitative interviews. Descriptive statistics, Likert mean scores, chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were used to analyse the relationship between CGSL credit access and technology investment decisions. The findings show that 90% of respondents agreed that new agricultural technology improves productivity, 78% agreed that credit is a prerequisite for accessing such technology, 91% agreed that modern agricultural technology is highly capital-intensive, and all respondents agreed that scarcity of working capital constrains investment. Mean scores reinforced this pattern: working capital scarcity recorded the strongest score (M = 4.68), followed by the importance of savings for poverty reduction (M = 4.51), technology capital intensity (M = 4.30), improved productivity through new technology (M = 4.12), and credit as a technology prerequisite (M = 4.02). Chi-square tests confirmed significant associations between CGSL participation and productivity indicators (chi-square = 15.92, p = .0001), while logistic regression showed that access to CGSL credit significantly increased the odds of investing in modern agricultural technologies (beta = 1.9459, OR = 7.00, p = .026). The article argues that CGSLs are necessary but insufficient: they reduce exclusion but rarely provide the scale, timing and risk protection required for high-yielding seeds, machinery, irrigation, veterinary inputs and other modern packages. The study recommends layered rural finance that combines community savings, formal credit linkages, input supplier arrangements, extension services, risk-sharing instruments and flexible agricultural repayment schedules.