Local groups are increasingly being promoted as vehicles for effective involvement of community members in development initiatives in the Global South, with the expectation of successful and sustained achievements. Previous studies on participation and leadership in groups have yielded mixed results, implying a need for more contextualized and validated assessments. In this study, using 281 household interviews and discussions with 21 farmers’ groups in southeast Uganda, we established that group participation was positively associated with age of household head, household size, and proximity to trading and health facilities. Group leadership was positively associated with the educational level of the household head, land size, and non-agricultural sources of income: the latter two indicating wealth of an individual. Implications for development programs and policies included special efforts to support the participation of youth, as well as dedicating extra effort to reach remote households and groups. Regarding leadership, groups were recommended to facilitate the taking up of leadership roles by non-educated members; enable youth to benefit from the government policy of Universal Primary Education; and establish measures to avoid elite capture
