Agricultural cluster development ELONA KARAFILI
Author: PhD Researcher Elona Karafili
Affiliation: Polis University, Tirana Albania
Background
As often the case with the newly formed peri-urban areas in the outskirts of expanding cities, the territories that surround Tirana face the pressure of converting agricultural land into urbanized areas, resulting in identity loss, environmental deterioration, and high unemployment accompanied by poverty and ultimately a low quality of life. Besides the challenges, the proximity to the capital city also provides advantages, such as economies of scale and scope deriving from the agglomeration of the activities, good access to the labor force, the market, infrastructure, as well as educational and research facilities, constituting therefore the basics for cluster development This paper explores the potential of the area to host cluster development, with a specific attention paid to agricultural clusters that would have an important effect not only to its economic performance but also on the preservation of the territory and the landscape.
References:
European Cluster Observatory (2014): http://www.clusterobservatory.eu/index.html accessed October 2014
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