Benchmarking of Smart Specialisation in the EU Agri-Food Sector

There are a number of objective factors underlying the territorial specialisation of agriculture, whereas the practices of implementing this approach are extremely diverse. The issue of assessing their effectiveness remains unresolved. The EU experience is an illustrative example of smart agri-food specialisation. The current study aims to clarify the central characteristics of the EU agri-food sector, evaluate the extent to which countries are involved in Smart Specialisation, and analyse best practices. To assess the concentration of agri-food production, we use the Herfindahl-Hirschman index and the Gini index (constructing the Lorenz curve). Trends in the dynamics of concentration indices indicate that there is a problem of optimal placement and specialisation of EU countries/regions by types of agricultural production. Most of the leading regions and regions engaged in Smart Specialisation partnerships are located in Western Europe (Spain, France, and the Netherlands), while the share of Eastern European nations is below 10% of the total number of participants. The research results also show that, in order to successfully implement the strategy of specialisation in developing countries, a number of general economic challenges should be first resolved that caused these states to lag behind. The solution to the problem falls within the domain of innovation and investment support. Findings: The experience of the EU agri-food sector reformation can be useful for formulating and justifying an innovative strategy for the development of agriculture in other countries.