diff --git a/srcpkgs/protobuf-vala/template b/srcpkgs/protobuf-vala/template
index 762908ab622..cb25bc9a209 100644
--- a/srcpkgs/protobuf-vala/template
+++ b/srcpkgs/protobuf-vala/template
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ version=0.1.0
 revision=2
 build_style=gnu-configure
 configure_args="--disable-static"
+hostmakedepends="protobuf"
 makedepends="pkg-config libgee08-devel protobuf-devel vala-devel"
 depends="pkg-config glib-devel"
 short_desc="A plugin for the Google protocol buffer compiler to generate Vala code"