Latest News

37 Euro spent on cut flowers

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:52:47 GMT

Every German spent 37 Euro on average on cut flowers last year. Five years ago the amount was about two Euro higher.The total market of cut flowers decreased from 3.18 billion Euro in 2008 to 3.03 billion Euro in 2012.

5500 apple trees

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:46:17 GMT

Currently, there are still 5500 apple trees growing wild in Germany. This “Tree of the Year 2013” is considered a decided rarity in the domestic forests.

1339 breweries

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:09:47 GMT

In Germany, 1339 breweries produced over 5000 different kinds of beer in 2012. With 622 breweries Bavaria hosts the most breweries, followed by Baden-Württemberg (185 breweries) and Nordrhein-Westfalen (138 breweries).

Article by German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:06:52 GMT

Hope, confidence, new beginnings – these fundamental concepts have shaped my perceptions of South Africa ever since Nelson Mandela and Frederik de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their reconciliation work 20 years ago. And these concepts of hope, confidence and new beginnings continue to shape my perceptions of South Africa today – largely due to the potential within South African agriculture.

Representatives of African Farmer organisations meet for seminar

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:06:52 GMT

A five-day seminar for representatives of African farmers' organisations took place May 6-10 in Pretoria. It focussed on strengthening internal organizations to encourage efficient and sustainable agriculture. Germany's Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Ms. Ilse Aigner attended the opening session of the event.

German Agriculture Minister Aigner visits South Africa, Ethiopia

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:16:48 GMT

German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner visited South Africa and Ethiopia from May 5-11, 2013. Alongside political discussions with ministerial colleagues, the trip focused on the Ministry's active commitment to improving food security in important African regions. On the occassion of her visit, an opinion piece of Minister Aigner was published in the South African Farmer's Weekly.

31 percent forest

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:46:19 GMT

*31* percent of Germany' surface area is forests. Concretely, about 11 million of the 36 million hectares of German land are covered by forests although Germany is one of the most populous and industrialised countries of Europe.

1.6 kg of asparagus

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:07:32 GMT

On average, each German consumes 1.6 kg of asparagus per year. In the 2011-12 financial year, there were in total 127,000 tons of asparagus consumed by Germans – about 4 percent more than in the previous year.

Germany to support sustainable agriculture in Zambia

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 07:19:40 GMT

With its bilateral cooperation programme, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) promotes cooperation with other countries in the fields of food, agriculture and consumer protection. This may happen in Zambia very soon as well.

66,011 products carry the "Bio-Siegel"

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 06:49:46 GMT

66,011 products are marked in Germany with the hexagonal "Bio-Siegel". There are 4,189 companies that have decided for this special quality label, which marks ecologically-produced foods. The "Bio-Siegel" is known and recognized, which both consumers and producers equally appreciate. The number of products registered has increased by 29 percent during the last five years.

DGRV is training South African cooperative consultants

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:17:31 GMT

South Africa's communities are boosting the establishment of cooperative societies to support the economy from the bottom up, create jobs and fight poverty. With this in mind, the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Conferation (DGRV-SA) is training cooperative skilled workers from all South African communities.

1,274,762 agricultural tractors

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:18:31 GMT

were registered in Germany in 2012. They are used as drive and traction engines for agricultural machinery, mainly on fields as well as in gardens, forestry and wineyards.

330 million young people

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:40:38 GMT

will be assailling the job market of African countries until 2025. About 200 million of them are rural. For those, agriculture is not only the most important job market but also the economic sector m...

1,658,000 sheep

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 06:51:30 GMT

were kept by a total of 10,400 farms in Germany in 2011. Nationwide, more than 40 breeds are raised specifically for the production of meat and milk.

80 States of the World agree about the fight against the world hunger

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 10:56:54 GMT

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture drew to a close on 19 January 2013in Berlin with the Agriculture Ministers’ Summit and the handing-over of the final communiqué by Federal Minister Ilse Aigner to the Chairman of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security, Yaya Olaniran.

150 million people...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:51:41 GMT

worldwide could be spared from hunger if women in developing countries were given the same resources and instruments for their agricultural work as men, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

2,079 hectares

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 11:25:51 GMT

of acreage in Germany are used for the cultivation of pumpkin. With those amounts, Germany’s industrial pumpkin acreage increased by more than 70 percent during the last years.

Investing in agriculture - fight hunger

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:42:38 GMT

The growing world population requires responsible investment in agriculture. The African agriculture plays an important role in the fight against hunger, which the German Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Ilse Aigner, observed in the following article on this topic. Minister Aigner will meet with Agricultural ministers from over 80 nations January 17-19 at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture to deliberate on recommendations as to how responsible investments can be promoted, to combat hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

72 million apple trees

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:25:33 GMT

…in Germany are bearing the Germans’ favourite fruit. The acreage of apples in Germany altogether amounts to 32,000 hectares, which is one third of the acreage for tree fruits.

1.3 cubic metres of wood

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:38:58 GMT

... per capita are used annually in Germany. This is an increase of about 20 percent in comparison with the base year of 1997. Thus, the aim of the "Wood Charter" has been achieved two years earlier than originally planned. The charter, initiated by the acting German Government, committed to an increase in ''per-capita'' usage of wood to 1.3 cubic metres by 2014.