Clustering Approach As a Regional Development Tool

Clustering is defined as geographic concentration of companies operating in the same sector as well as having a close buyer and seller relationship with other sectors in the region, using common technologies and sharing a specialized workforce pool that will be provide competitive edge. Specialized suppliers, service providers, universities and companies of the related sector such as commercial enterprises form the clusters. Clustering can occur in a region, sector and even in a country. Turkey is a country where agriculture and livestock sectors are important. According to TUIK (Turkish Statistics Institute) data, approximately 65 % of the population is still employed by this sector. One third of the agricultural activities are based on stockbreeding. Milk yield is one of the prominent items of agricultural products and Turkey is ranked as the world's 15th country in milk yield. Although 13 million tons of milk produced in a year is not sufficient in terms of Turkey's potential, milk yield has been increasing, developing recently and milk processing has become more sufficient. This study reviews the milk producers located in canakkale Region and highlights the clustering characteristics of the sector and establishes the factors having an impact on the clustering. This study examines the clustering status of dairy producers in canakkale region and operating in the same sector. As clearly evidenced by the number of producing plants and animals milked as well as the total amount of milk produced, dairy producers located within the territory of canakkale are clustered in Biga district. The results clearly confirm that there is a clustering in that region. The number of cooperatives and cooperative partners existing in Biga as well as the total amount milk produced and sold here also support these results.