Arbuzova T. The development of competitiveness of agricultural production of a region

The author has worked out the approach to securing competitiveness of agricultural production of a region, providing the use of cluster model of organization of agricultural activity, which allows to determine competitive advantages of agricultural production from the point of view of totality of internal and external factors that ensure a narrow specialization of agricultural activitiy. The implementation of this approach will make it possible to identify the priority types of agricultural production, as well as the prerequisites ensuring their advantages on agricultural products market, taking into account the possibility of internal co-operation of agricultural activitiy. Set of concepts and categories of research has been improved in clarifying the nature and purpose of the functional areas of agribusiness of a region. The interrelation of the functional areas of agribusiness of a region in the context of food security has been established. The author has arranged factors and conditions ensuring competitiveness of agricultural production of a region, which allows a differentiated account, including the specifics of the organization of production and economic activity, natural-resource management and peculiarities of the structure of agribusiness of a region. The approach to the assessment of trends in agricultural production has been developed further; it is based on the totality of system, dynamic and institutional approaches. Methodological provision for identification of competitive advantages of agricultural production of a region has been developed; it gives the definition of potential market capacity of agricultural products, level of competition and the degree of market concentration, priority specialization, as well as evaluating the potential for clustering of agricultural activity types, which has enabled the author to present the models of regional clusters of agricultural production. The practicality of this research lies in the fact that the propositions of the thesis have been presented in the form of methodical elaborations, proposals and recommendations used while working out regional development programs of Crimea. Keywords: agribusiness, agricultural production, food security, region, agricultural areas, regional clusters, natural-resource potential.