The German federal government is putting rural development at the centre of its development policy. German Development Minister Dirk Niebel announced the shift in May 2010 in Berlin, Germany, noting that rural development is the key to poverty reduction and to attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. He reaffi rmed the promise made by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel that the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will invest funds totalling three billion US dollars in rural development and food security over the period to 2012, as pledged at the 2009 G8 Summit in Italy.

(BMZ/ib)