Cluster approach to the grain industry development

Subject. The article investigates the grain industry development through the cluster analysis, using the case of municipalities of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. Objectives. The purpose is to assess the resource potential of the grain industry development based on the factorial and correlation analysis of the main components affecting the agricultural production of cereals; to study the interaction of agricultural organizations by applying the cluster approach to placement and specialization of agricultural production. Methods. The study draws on general scientific (analysis and synthesis, formalization, analogy and comparison) and special (statistical, correlation analysis, cluster analysis) methods. Results. We analyzed the statistical data on grain crops production of municipalities of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, performed a cluster analysis. Its procedure included the formation of a database for clustering sample, selection of a measure of proximity (metric) between the sample members, and calculation of its values, the process of cluster formation, listing of results based on the formed clusters, and evaluation of resulting indicators of grain production. Conclusions. The study shows the effectiveness of multidimensional quantitative analysis. The findings helped identify certain patterns of the grain industry development, which have been verified in dynamics over the past five years.