Welthungerhilfe welcomes close cooperation between development politics and the global food initiative

Small-scale farmers in Peru.

(11.06.2010). Welthungerhilfe welcomes the new close cooperation in the fields of development politics and global food security between the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). "We are pleased that global food security has at last arrived back at the top of the German political agenda. We see this as a vindication of our efforts over many years to place agriculture and rural development at the heart of the fight against hunger and poverty," says Dr. Wolfgang Jamann, Welthungerhilfe's Secretary General.

He continues: "We are taking this new orientation of German politics seriously, and are demanding that this is now also reflected in the work which is actually carried out. Up to now, agriculture has not in itself been a main focus within the BMZ, although it was already agreed in the coalition agreement that it should be. Agriculture must be the motor of rural development. On the one hand, it can guarantee that people have a healthy diet. At the same time, it can eradicate poverty by generating income and driving forward social and economic development in remote areas.

Small-scale farmers play a central role in this. They must be involved in the decisions, and the process must be adapted to their needs. We expect today's conference‚'Politics against Hunger’, which has been convened by the BMELV, to also send out this signal. The global food initiative must be organised from the ground up. The millions of impoverished small-scale farmers must be the central thread of long-term support for agriculture and rural development, so that they can free themselves from the poverty trap they find themselves in."