Management performance of farmers ’ groups and its impact on membership : A prerequisite for group sustainability in Trinidad

The Government of Trinidad has implemented plans to promote the establishment of new farmers’ groups and also strengthen existing groups. It is expected that extension officers will work more with farmers in groups to increase extension-to-farmer interactions. Groups however, have not been sustainable in Trinidad. The study examined group members’ perceptions of how management functions are performed, and how such performance is related to their satisfaction with being a member of the group. A convenient sample of 150 farmers from 87 farmers’ groups across the country was surveyed using a structured instrument. Calculated means show farmers perceived the planning, organizing and leading management functions were moderately performed, with the controlling function being even lower. A one-way within-subjects ANOVA model showed there was a statistically significant difference in mean perceived performance in functions of management. OLS results showed statistically significant and positive correlations between members’ perception of groups’ organizing, leading and control activities, and their satisfaction with membership in the group (R 2 = .55). The major implication is that if basic management functions of groups are not strengthened then the sustainability of groups and thus government’s food security objectives would be at risk.


INTRODUCTION
With an extension officer to farmer ratio hovering around 1:600 over the past few decades in Trinidad (Ganpat, 2013), farmers are not visited by an extension officer on a regular basis.However, some efforts have been made to promote farmers' groups in an attempt to increase farmers' access to extension services.The Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs, in its National Food Production Action Plan, stated that it intends to *Corresponding author.E-mail: lendelkn@yahoo.com.
Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License engage in capacity building of farmers' groups not only to enhance cohesiveness and promote better organizational structure, but also to enhance technology dissemination efforts (MFPLMA, 2011).Other national agricultural agencies have also attempted to work together to build and sustain farmers' groups (Francis, 2010).Ramdwar et al. (2014) noted that even regional agencies such as the Technical Centre of Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA), and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) have also placed emphasis on supporting farmers' groups.
One prerequisite for success with farmers' collective action is trust; not only among farmers but also in their leaders.Danida (2004) noted that accountability of leaders is one major factor affecting farmers' organization.Ostrom (1990) reported that internal factors such as inadequate mechanisms to develop trust and lack of capacity to communicate with each other negatively impact the sustainability of famers' groups and this limits their impact on improving the livelihood of small farmers.The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) highlighted the importance of leadership in farmer organizations, stating that leaders' roles are important in reducing poverty in developing countries (IFAD, 2010).However, the intergroup dynamics of farmers' groups in Trinidad have been marginally explored, and there has been little research on the effectiveness and sustainability of such groups (Ramdwar et al., 2014).
The official registers in Trinidad are replete with names of farmers' groups that have been formed; yet short lived.Why do farmers' groups fail to survive in an environment where the benefits from group involvement are known?Ramdwar et al. (2013) found that in the Caribbean region, the main issues that limit involvement in groups include poor leadership, weak task cohesion, low levels of farmer satisfaction with group membership, and lack of trust.The results of this work also suggested that good governance can positively impact the formation and functioning of farmers' groups.
Success with farmers' groups has also been linked to leadership abilities and failure has been associated with attempts to undertake activities that require experience and skills in effective collective action (Stringfellow et al., 1997;FAO, 1994FAO, , 2001)).On the other hand, Ramdwar et al. (2014) found that leadership was a major issue in farmers' group sustainability and training was recommended for leaders and potential leaders in governance.Public extension officers in Trinidad are charged with the responsibility of promoting and building farmer group capacity.Extension officers identified technical capacity and proper functioning of groups as the main predictors of satisfaction with membership in such groups (Ramdwar et al., 2015).Satisfaction, as noted before, impacts involvement in groups.
While there is the need to better understand the conditions under which collective action is useful and viable (Markelova et al., 2009;Poulton et al., 2010), intragroup dynamics have been singled out (Liverpool-Tasie, 2012) as one factor not properly investigated in developing countries.Management of groups, we contend, is a core area of intra-group dynamics, and is the focus of this study.Ali (2012) pointed to management skills as a key factor in farmer group development.
Similarly, Zumdahl (2010) indicated that leaders needed several management skills, and Vilas et al. (2005) suggested that the ability of managers is one of the most important factors determining the success or failure of farmers' groups.
In spite of the stated benefits of involvement in farmer groups, there has been a decline in participation in farmer groups (Rouse and Juhaz, 2006).In Trinidad, anecdotal evidence shows a reduction in attendance at meetings and reported discontinuance of payment of membership fees.Why this situation exists has not been fully explored.While many reasons may account for such a situation, this investigation will focus on management factors.It is posited that management factors affect group membership satisfaction, and consequently impact the sustainability of groups; a prerequisite for sustaining the livelihoods of farmers and food security.
The aim of the study is to investigate the role of management functions on membership satisfaction in farmer groups.Specifically, the study seeks to; 1. Describe members' perceptions of selected management functions; 2. Describe farmers' satisfaction with group membership; 3. Assess differences in membership satisfaction based on selected management functions; 4. Estimate the relationship between management functions and farmers' satisfaction with group membership.

Literature review
According to Bartol and Martin (1998), management is defined as the process of achieving organizational goals by engaging in four basic functions; planning, organizing, leading and controlling.Planning is the process of setting goals and designing strategies to achieve these goals (Bartol and Martin, 1998).In the context of farmer groups, planning activities include the identification and analysis of problems facing farmers, developing feasible solutions, prioritizing problems and solutions based on availability of funds, and developing an action plan (CRS and MEAS, 2015).As a function of management, planning is an ongoing activity and can be extended to designing measures of evaluation for monitoring progress towards meeting organizational goals (Rockwell and Bennett, 2004).Organizing is the process of allocating and arranging human and non-human resources to ensure the successfully implementation of plans.It involves prioritizing tasks in alignment with the structure of the organization (Bartol and Martin, 1998).Organizing can include budgetary considerations, membership payment schemes, and allocation of incentives to farmers.Controlling is the process of regulating organizational activities to ensure that the actual performance conforms to the expected organizational standards and goals.Controlling is focused on formative or process evaluation, and involves the continuous monitoring of a group's performance in comparison with the performance benchmarks (Bartol and Martin, 1998).The results of formative evaluation are utilized to adjust program activities to ensure continued or improved program effectiveness (Rossi et al., 2004).Leading is the process of influencing others to engage in work behaviors necessary to accomplish organizational goals.Leading includes communicating a vision, providing direction, motivating members, and encouraging change and innovation (Bartol and Martin, 1998).Evidently, these functions of the managerial process outlined are broad in nature.However, such functions are central to the achievement of organizational goals, and should be strongly factored into the management of any type of organization, including farmer groups.Bartol and Martin (1998) proposed a simple management process to show the effect of management functions on performance (Figure 1).The model illustrates antecedents to organizational performance, starting with work agendas.A work agenda is considered as a set of tentative goals and tasks of management (Bartol and Martin, 1998).Stewart (1982) noted that work agendas are affected by three main factors: Job demands, job constraints and job choices.Job demands are "must do" activities, job constraints are internal and external factors limiting management's ability to complete tasks, and job choices are optional activities of management.Management tends to align agendas to work roles and methods (Kotter, 1982).Work roles are a set of behaviors associated with a position (Mintzberg, 1980).Three main types of roles are: interpersonal, informational, and decisional (Mintzberg, 1980).Interpersonal roles are directly linked to the authority of management and involve developing and maintaining positive relationships.Informational roles allow management to serve as a knowledge center for their organizations by receiving and transmitting information.Decisional roles entail making important decisions that affect the organization.Work agendas, methods and roles affect the functions of management (that is, planning, organizing, controlling, and leading).In turn, organizational performance and goal achievement are dependent on the execution of these activities (Bartol and Martin, 1998).However, management skills and knowledge base also affect performance.Management skill is the ability to engage in a set of behaviors that lead to a desired performance level.Katz (1955) identified three types of managerial skills as: technical, human and conceptual.Knowledge base refers to the information about the industry and relevant technologies, company policies and practices, goals and plans, culture, personalities of organization members, and important suppliers and customers (Bartol and Martin, 1998).
This study operationalized organizational performance as farmers' perceptions of performance on four functions of management, and sought to examine the effects of these managerial functions on membership satisfaction.As such, organizational performance was assessed and interpreted based on farmers' perception of the effectiveness of the group's management functions [Planning (MF P ), Organizing (MF O ), Controlling (MF C ), and Leading (MF L )].These functions were specified as independent factors affecting farmers' satisfaction with their membership in the group (SM).A positive relationship between farmers' perceptions of management functions and satisfaction with membership was hypothesized.Therefore, if farmers perceived high performance in the groups' management, then they are more likely to be satisfied with group membership.The study assumes that satisfaction with group membership positively affects the sustainability of farmers' groups and achievement of food security.

METHODS
Due to the unreliable statistics in the official register, the exact number of active groups in Trinidad is unknown.However, checks and cross-checks were done with the lists of groups from The Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago (the umbrella organization for farmers' groups), the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (the national marketing agency) and the Regional Agricultural Administrations (North and South) of The Ministry of Agriculture.Such checks gave an indication of the number of active groups at the time of the study.Some 87 farmers' groups were identified as existing across the country; this is the study population.A convenient sample of 150 farmers was chosen from these groups.
This study used a cross-sectional design and a survey methodology.A self-reporting survey instrument was used to gather data and the response rate was 90%.The survey instrument consisted of personal and farm related questions; 19 item statements were used to assess four management functions which includes: Planning (2 statements); organizing (4 statements); leading (9 statements) and controlling (4 statements).Respondents were asked to state their extent of agreement with each statement and these were scored as: Strongly agree (score = 4); Agree (score = 3); Undecided (score = 3); Disagree (score = 2) and Strongly disagree (score = 1).A ten-item scale of similar construction and measurement was used to assess the satisfaction with membership in the group.Internal reliability for the satisfaction scale was assessed and found to be acceptable (Cronbach α = 0.84).The instrument used in this study is part of a more elaborate instrument used in a larger study being pursued for graduate research work.The instrument was validated by three experts in the subject area (two from the University of the West Indies and one from the Trinidad government extension services).A pilot test was done with 10 farmers in one farmers' group and some modifications were made.Results were presented as descriptive analysis of variance (ANOVA) and ordinary least squares (OLS).

RESULTS
Table 1 provides an overview of the sample characteristics.
Most respondents were males (86.6%), between 46 and 60 years old, and possessed secondary level education (42.9%).The majority had over 15 years of experience in farming (70.3%), and engaged mostly in crop production (78.5%).Most were full-time farmers (67.1%) and many operated on rented or leased land (45.8%).Respondents reported moderate level of profitability from agriculture (61.2%).With respect to farmer group status, many respondents were involved with their respective group for 1 to 5 years (45.9%), and the majority stated that the size of group membership exceeded 40 farmers (51.4%).Most farmers reported that they paid a group membership fee (86.4%) and had 75 to 100% meetings attendance (55.9%).
Table 2 provides an overview of farmers' perceptions of four management functions.With respect to planning, most farmers (77%) agreed that group members were involved in setting goals for the group.Similarly, most members (88%) agreed that all office holders in the farmer group were democratically elected.More so, most farmer group members agreed that the group leader always informed the group about important matters concerning the group and the leader is a good spokesperson for the group.Majority of farmers also agreed that the group leader played a key role in controlling the group by documenting and dating all information for reference, as well as review in cases of updates and/or changes.However, there were varied responses among farmers, including indecision and disagreement, on the function of organizing regarding regular scheduling of group meetings.A similar trend in response was recorded regarding the leading function of the group leader in relation to being a good problem solver and providing an atmosphere of trust within the group.The function of controlling received the highest level of indecision and disagreement regarding: sanctions for breaking the rules of the groups, existence of standards, policies and procedures (in written form) stipulating how to deal with the challenges that the groups are likely to face and honest and transparent accountability of groups' finances.Table 3 presents findings of farmers' responses to ten item statements representing their satisfaction with membership in the group (Cronbach α = 0.84).Based on the findings, farmers mostly agreed with statements such as "the group is not politically affiliated nor has a political agenda", "there is no corruption or misuse of funds in the group", and "the farmer group provides several benefits to members".In contrast, farmers did not agree with the statement "my standard of living has improved as a result of being a member of the group".
Table 4 presents the results of the one-way withinsubjects ANOVA with contrasts.There was a statistically significant difference in the mean perceived performance based on functions of management (Greenhouse-Geisser adjusted, F (2.80, 355.89) = 9.465, p < 0.001).Based on   performance with respect to controlling was significantly lower than other functions of management.
Table 5 shows the estimates of a linear regression, indicating the effect of management performance with respect to four functions on farmers' satisfaction with group membership.Overall, the model was statistically significant (F (4, 117) = 37.37, p < 0.001), and independent factors explained 55% of the variation in farmers' satisfaction with group membership.There were statistically significant and positive correlations between members' perception of the effectiveness of groups' organizing, leading and controlling activities, and their satisfaction with membership in the group.As perceptions of groups' organizing, leading and controlling functions increased, member satisfaction significantly increased.

DISCUSSION
The management functions that were proposed by Bartol and Martin (1998) as being predictors of management performance in structured organizations were found to be consistent in this study.This study also determined that management performance impacted farmers' satisfaction with being in a group.Farmers responses to the statements under each of the functions assessed showed that there was some degree of disquiet among membership with the functioning of the groups in key management areas.The results indicated that farmers perceived moderate levels of performance in all four functions of management.Moreover, capacity for the controlling function may be lacking in comparison to other functions.
While the model used in this study is taken from a context of a developed organization with highly educated managers, it contrasts sharply with farmers' groups; such groups being managed by farmer-leaders, who in developing countries are not likely to be highly educated, more so have any specialized training in management.The farmers in this study had mostly primary and secondary level education as their highest level of education attained.It is unreasonable to expect that these farmers have the requisite skills and abilities needed for the groups' effective management.As such, some attention has to be given to improving the capacities of farmers and farmer-leaders, and government, as the main facilitator of agriculture development should play a key role.
The areas for intervention have been identified; these are the areas in which farmers are not very satisfied.While all the functions assessed had generally moderate level of performance and needs to be developed, the controlling function needs priority attention.The findings of this study suggest the need to build the capacity of leaders and future leaders through educational programs aimed at improving management competencies.The central thesis of this study was that management functions were determinants of membership satisfaction and consequently on the sustainability of groups; sustainability of groups being a stated strategy for agricultural development in Trinidad.Membership satisfaction is moderate, and it is impacted by management performance.Actions after such as training of leaders and the extension officers who work with them, can improve management performance and consequently impact farmers' satisfaction with being in the group.Extension officers will have to be trained to become the agents of change through group development; intra group dynamics that will bring about positive perceptions of groups' leading, organizing and controlling functions will have to be the focus.Ganpat et al. (2014) noted that for farmers to produce and earn a decent livelihood for themselves and their families, they require an extension service that satisfies their needs in a timely and effective manner.Extension has a role in educating groups on how to choose good leaders.Leaders should at least be early adopters as recognized by extension.If membership to a group is viewed as an innovation, then leaders should be at the forefront as change agents by encouraging participation through good discharge of management functions.Leaders and potential leaders in a group will have to be trained in management as part of a development agenda.
While membership satisfaction was indeed impacted by management issues, the sustainability issue is the one that will bring about larger, more meaningful change.As farmers stay in groups, the stated benefits to farmers of group involvement could be realized.Satisfaction was posited as an antecedent of long-term success such that increased satisfaction leads to sustainability of groups and farmers livelihoods.Finally, it is recommended that factors other than management factors, which may impact the sustainability of groups, should be examined.

Table 1 .
Descriptive summary of sample demographics.
*Totals vary in column due to non-responses.

Table 2 .
Descriptive summary of statement responses for management functions.

Table 3 .
Descriptive summary of membership satisfaction (SM) statements.

Table 4 .
Differences in performance based on functions (One-way within-subjects ANOVA).

Table 5 .
The effect of management functions) on satisfaction.