The aim of the paper was to present cluster organizations as a complementary structure in relation to clusters in the context of support that takes form of public intervention in the agri-food sector in Poland. In the process of integration of the Polish and the EU economic systems, cluster organizations have become a new element of the market. With the expansion of the cluster concept a blur has occurred with regard to the distinction of these two terms. Their proper perception is necessary if greater competitiveness is expected to take place in the agri-food sector that is a result of a planned and implemented cluster policy. In the literature as well as in business practice a wrong approach in which these two concepts are considered to be identical can be recognized. Consequently, public intervention is focused on supporting cluster organizations that are formed by only a fraction of entities operating in a cluster. The effects of such intervention are therefore limited to a small group of market participants.