A number of experts indicated that South Africa was currently experiencing its worst drought since 1982. Rainfall was below normal from November to February, the peak planting period. Hence there were low plantings in most grain-growing regions. Hectares planted with summer crops decreased by 20% from 4 million ha in 2015, and the grain harvest is expected to decline by 26% from 12 million tonnes in 2015. The loss of income in the agricultural sector is estimated at ZAR 10 billion. The worst affected are smallholder farmers, who are more vulnerable to extreme weather events, and have no insurance or alternative income safety nets. Livestock farmers are losing large herds as a result of a lack of grazing, fodder and drinking water. Although the government is providing the farmers with drought relief, the process is rather slow. These weather events almost annually result in significant losses for the farmers and for the insurance industry, such as those suffered in the 2006/07 crop season, and extreme flooding and excessive rainfall in 2009/10 and 2010/11. The exact financial impact for the farmers and insurance industry in the 2015/16 season still needs to be quantified. As the South African crop insurance industry is strongly impacted by the extreme volatility of the frequency and severity of weather events – arguably linked to climate change – initiatives to develop solutions are currently underway. Together with all stakeholders – government, the banking and crop insurance industries, and farmers’ associations – Munich Re supports a public-private partnership approach to providing all farmers with crop insurance that mitigates catastrophic weather losses through a fast and efficient mechanism of paying losses. Source - http://www.daff.gov.za