mainly in KwaZulu-Natal, due to malnutrition caused by the drought, and the rate is increasing rapidly. Although large parts of the country received rains the last few weeks, the veld takes some time to recover; there exists a real possibility that grazing will not be sufficient in the coming months. The decrease in the planting of new summer crop plantings will also lead to reduced fodder supply and subsequent high fodder prices16. Although there are currently sufficient meat supplies available at affordable prices, when the drought is broken, famers will have to start rebuilding their herds. This period will see prices rise (due to shortages). Unfortunately, due to limited sellable livestock these high prices will have a limited benefit for producers17. Food inflation is expected to increase, while lower-income consumers will be hit hardest by this higher inflation as basic food prices will increase sharply and household income will decline dramatically18. Many of these consumers spend 60% of their income on food for their families. Although Stats SA estimates agriculture’s direct contribution to GDP to be between 3% and 4% per year, various studies have shown that the indirect effect of agriculture is closer to 25% when forward and backward linkages are included19. The agricultural sector already finds itself in a deep recession: The annualised percentage change in the seasonally-adjusted quarterly value added shows a decline of 18% in the first quarter, 19,7% in the second quarter and a further 12,6% in the third quarter20. Agricultural economists are concerned that the situation will worsen significantly during the 2016/2017 season. These negative knock-on effects will not only have an impact on farmers, but also on input suppliers and the rest of the economy for a number of years to come21. 16 Willemse, J., Strydom, D. & Venter, M. (2015). Implications of 2015 drought on economy, agri markets and consumers. Available at http://www.growinggreatness.co.za/implications-of-lingering2015-drought-on-economy-agricultural-markets-food-processors-input-suppliers-and-consumers/. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid.