Tropentag 2012

Almost one billion people worldwide suffer from hunger. Another billion are malnourished. This is an unacceptable situation. By 2050, we will probably have to feed nine billion people while taking care not to overstretch our planet's ecological capacity. Hunger and malnutrition have many causes. One central cause is undoubtedly the fact that agricultural productivity in most developing countries is too low to give the majority of the rural poor adequate income opportunities or to ensure food security for them. This is the very factor that we need to address. So when I assumed office in 2009, I made rural development and food security a political priority of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) again, considerably increasing the Ministry's financial commitments in the sector. The volume of relevant commitments is now more than 700 million euros a year. This is more than 10 per cent of my Ministry's total budget. The Tropentag is a renowned international forum for development and agricultural research experts to share information and experience as well as knowledge. Numerous organisations and experts from a variety of fields from more than 80 countries are represented. The event provides a good networking opportunity, especially for younger experts. It is intellectual input of this kind that makes a huge difference in whether development policy and development cooperation are successful or not. So it was my pleasure to accept the role of patron for this Tropentag.