diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 0cbba44771..ec2941ce87 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
     AC_LANG_C
     AC_PROG_CC_C99
     AC_PROG_LIBTOOL
+    PKG_PROG_PKG_CONFIG(0.21) # 0.21 is the CentOS 5.11 version
 
     AC_DEFUN([FAIL_MESSAGE],[
             echo