Comparing CGSL Impact on Agricultural Development Across East African Fragile States: South Sudan, DRC, and Somalia

Community Group Saving and Lending (CGSL) mechanisms have become important informal financial institutions in fragile agricultural economies where formal banks, microfinance institutions and public extension systems are unable to reach many rural producers. This article compares the likely agricultural development impact of CGSL arrangements across three East African fragile-state contexts: South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Somalia. The South Sudan case draws directly on a mixed-methods doctoral study conducted in Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei and Lakes States between 2022 and 2025, which surveyed 85 respondents and used interview evidence from 17 participants to examine the relationship between CGSL participation, agricultural productivity, financial inclusion and investment in modern agricultural technologies. The DRC and Somalia cases are treated as comparative fragile-state contexts, allowing the article to examine how conflict, displacement, weak rural finance, market fragmentation and climate vulnerability shape the pathways through which savings groups influence agricultural development. The analysis finds that CGSLs are most effective where they combine pooled savings, peer-based loan enforcement, financial literacy, agricultural input financing, and member-managed governance. However, their development impact is limited when groups lack long-term capital, crop or livestock insurance, agricultural extension linkages, and supportive policy recognition. The article argues that CGSLs are not substitutes for formal agricultural finance, but they are critical bridging institutions that can reduce financial exclusion, de-risk small investments, build collective trust, and connect rural farmers to stronger markets when appropriately supported. The comparative evidence suggests that South Sudan has high CGSL relevance because of severe formal-finance absence and strong community dependence on informal systems; DRC offers broader scaling potential because of larger market corridors and more diversified rural economies; while Somalia demonstrates strong relevance for pastoralist and climate-risk settings where mobile money and community-based mechanisms may interact. The article recommends a fragile-states CGSL upgrading model built around group governance, agricultural extension, climate-risk protection, digital record keeping, and graduated linkages to formal finance.