Agricultural Clusters Approach to Enhance Competitiveness of Smallholder Farms in Southeast Asia

The agriculture-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries are continuously affected by globalization. An agricultural cluster—organized either through horizontal and vertical linkages, is a strategic approach to operationalize the appropriate channels at a scale necessary for it to have enhanced competitive strength to connect with national and international markets. Analyzing selected case studies in Southeast Asia, this policy paper demonstrates several models of cluster farming and how it is being implemented on the ground.