At US$947 million (€681 million) in 2010, Germany was the largest European government donor to agriculture (incl. forestry and fishing) and rural development, accounting for 16% of total ODA to agriculture provided by European DAC donors. While 54% (US$508 million or €365 million) were bilateral ODA, 46% (US$439 million or €316 million) were channeled through multilateral organizations. Rural development and agriculture have gained importance in German development cooperation since the food crisis in 2007/08. This has led to an increase in funding by 37% between 2008 and 2010. In addition, the share of agriculture ODA increased from 4.4% of total German ODA in 2008 to 6.2% in 2010,though this is still below the European DAC country average (6.7%).

At the 2009 G8 meeting, Germany pledged €2.1 billion (US$3 billion) to the L’Aquila Food Security Initiative for 2010 to 2012 which is mainly channeled bilaterally. As of 2012, Germany had committed slightly more than the pledged amount, and 50% had been disbursed. In December 2012, Germany committed to continue spending at least €700 million (US$900 million) per year on agriculture and rural development going forward.

More information on: Bilateral and multilateral funding for agriculture

More information on: Strategic frameworks and current portfolio