Problems and Perspectives of Formation of Agricultural Clusters for Increasing Food Security of Developing Countries

Abstract

1. Introduction The global financial crisis, apart from negative influence on the economy and social conditions in many countries, caused the aggravation of the whole range of global problems of development, among which the most important is the threat for food security in developing countries and regions. As a result, there is a complex of economic and social factors in developing countries which emerged under the influence of the crisis. Thus, the reasons for emergence of the complex of food security problems became the growth of global prices for food and reduction of offer for food products in sales market with inability to satisfy the demand of net importers of food. Implementation of limitations for export of agricultural products by some countries showed the existing disproportions in the global food system, which leads to many food net importers' dependence on several countries-exporters. This causes the necessity for corresponding measures for prevention of food crisis in case of instability in countries-exporters. For this purpose, the authors offer to create agricultural clusters for increasing the competitiveness of domestic agricultural producers and providing food security of developing countries. 2. Materials and Methods The existing separate provisions of methodological nature are related to development of criterion of selecting the spheres (types of activity) for clustering, while the algorithm of agricultural cluster formation is poorly substantiated and poorly elaborated in methodological aspect; there is no clear instrumentarium of sequence and interdependence of various types of activity and production spheres in a cluster. That's why this study develops the proprietary methodology of integral approach to formation of projects and programs of socio-economic development, which allows differentiating the sub-system of previously viewed indicators as to the level of users' demands. For this purpose, they are differentiated in the projects for bodies of state (municipal) power, for bodies of executive power, and for specific economic subjects (Garthwaite et al., 2015). Based on the results of evaluation of territories' capabilities for sustainable economic and ecological development, the algorithm of their further ranking according to the principles of cluster analysis is formed. On the basis of the analysis and generalization of materials in this research, the principles of cluster formation are allocated: informational openness, diversification of demand, and geographical proximity. The sense of the offered methodology consists in the agricultural cluster creation technology's division into several independent stages: selection of the goal and of contextual element of cluster and elaboration of the chain of spheres and types of activities which enter (comprise) a cluster. Comparison of given stages and tasks, which form them, points at the fact that the latter task in creation of sectorial cluster is the most important, at the same time being the least developed, contradictive, and short of methodological level. The model of organizational & economic mechanism of managing agricultural cluster includes totality of methods of influence for the purpose of achievement of desired level of efficiency of activities and functions of management (analytical, organizational & coordinating, accounting & controlling, and stimulating). Methodological base for managing socio-economic development of agricultural cluster includes: technological support, regulatory support, informational support, marketing support, and organizational & economic support (He, 2015). Another group of problems is related to development of conceptual model of the system of indicators of agricultural cluster strategic development. Taking competitiveness of agricultural cluster as a possibility to rationally use the current potential for manifesting competitive advantages, it is possible to state that competitiveness is a result of the level of managing agricultural cluster for achieving its sustainable development. …