Influencers of leadership styles used by farmer organisations in Uganda

AbstractAlthough leadership determines the performance of farmer organizations, the leadership styles used by farmer organizations in Uganda and factors influencing such styles have received limited attention in empirical studies. The available studies have focused mainly on the influence of leadership on performance, effectiveness, accountability, and transparency. This study determined: (1) leadership styles used by farmer organizations in Uganda; (2) differences in farmer organizational characteristics across the styles; and (3) factors that influence such styles. This study contributes to the understanding of leadership styles used by farmer organizations in Uganda and the factors that influence the choice of such styles. In order to collect quantitative data, a cross-sectional survey of 272 systematically selected farmer organizations was conducted in 12 districts of central and northern Uganda. 59.56% of farmer organizations used both democratic and autocratic leadership styles, according to the findings. Furthermore, savings and loan scheme, leadership passion, farm management training, leadership and management training, leaders’ expertise, and leadership committee numbers varied across leadership styles. The logit results showed that the savings scheme, number of organizational departments, leadership passion, usage of market outlets, total costs, and leadership and management training influenced the use of both democratic and autocratic leadership styles. However, the use of solely the democratic leadership style was influenced by committee size, total income, and value-added training. Farmer organizations should continue to use both democratic and autocratic leadership styles for efficiency and effectiveness. Governments and other development partners should strengthen leadership and management training for farmer organizational leaders.