RAIN before the autumn or winter will determine whether insurers pay out millions in claims to affected farmers as SA’s worst drought in 20 years drags on. Last January, large parts of the Northern Cape, some parts of the Western Cape and isolated parts of Limpopo and Mpumalanga experienced 0mm to 10mm rain, according to SA Weather Service data. By December, this had spread to large parts of the Free State, the North West, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape. Farmers seeking financial relief from insurers may have to wait a while. Schalk Schultz, business development manager at Santam’s crop insurance division, said drought claims were calculated and paid only when crops were harvested, from June to August. Andries Wiese, manager for market intelligence at Mutual & Federal Agri, said veld fires had been caused by a combination of the hot weather, the drought and a lack of moisture after winter. "Where rain has fallen, this was accompanied by relatively high thunderstorm activity and lightning, as opposed to soft, ‘gentle’ rain," he said. "Lightning is a known factor in veld fires, and this is of concern as we expect a rise in veld fire incidences." Mr Wiese said few crops had been planted because of the drought, leading to a lack of claims for crop damage. "No claims have been made, but the total impact of the drought on our summer crops will only become evident as the season progresses." Santam expects claims to flood in from summer grain production areas in central and western SA at harvest time, while Mutual & Federal Agri anticipates the North West and the central and north-western Free State will be hit hardest. Adequate rain might alter this. In a published forecast, the Weather Service’s Cobus Olivier said rainfall for the late summer and early autumn seasons would probably be below average. "If it does rain adequately, or at least revert to our normal rainfall pattern, the farmers who did manage to get crops in — estimates put this at some 48% of the expectation as at December 21 — will realise crops as per usual," said Mr Wiese. Source - bdlive.co.za