Page 33 - UGU Dstrct Mun IDP Report '21-22

3.1.4 Broad Land Use Patterns
3.1.4.1 Coastal Tourism Towns and Surrounding Suburbs
There are a number of coastal tourism towns that are located along Marine Drive, Ocean Drive and Finnis Road. These are mostly dominant within Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality, specifically along R61 from Port Shepstone to Port Edward, however coastal tourism is also seen in Scottburgh, Park Rynie, Pennington, Sunwhich Port, Hibberdene etc. These towns are also surrounded by associated formal suburbs. These towns have a number of commercial and entertainment activities within it which were introduced in order to embolden this tourism environment.
3.1.4.2 Urban Towns and Surrounding Suburbs
The main urban centres within the study area are Port Shepstone, Hibberdene, Scottburgh, Margate, Port Edward and Harding Town. These serve as the main towns for the municipal area with the highest agglomeration of commercial activities.
3.1.4.3 Rural Town and Surrounding Peri-Urban Settlements
Ezingolweni is the main rural town that is found within the municipal area. Turton within Umzumbe is experiencing an increase in density marked by a phenomenal increase in the number of people that live within the area. It is surrounded by the densely populated rural settlements which have grown around it over the years.
3.1.4.4 Rural Villages and Settlements
Majority of the inland area is occupied by rural villages and settlements. These are spread within different parts of the administrative boundaries of traditional authorities. These villages and settlements have a number of commercial and social activities within them. The kind of commercial activities are limited to small local convenient shops, taverns as well as small scale manufacturing activities (block making) and personnel services such as salons and small-scale agricultural activities (ploughing fields and food gardens).
3.1.4.5 Commercial Agriculture
Most commercial agriculture is intensive in one or more ways. Forms that rely especially heavily on industrial methods are often called industrial agriculture, which is characterised by innovations designed to increase yield. Techniques include planting multiple crops per year, reducing the frequency of fallow years, and improving cultivars. It also involves increased use of fertilizers, plant growth regulators, pesticides and mechanised agriculture, controlled by increased and more detailed analysis of growing conditions, including weather, soil, water, weeds and pests. This system is supported by ongoing innovation in agricultural machinery and farming methods, genetic technology, techniques for achieving economies of scale, logistics, as well as data collection and analysis technology. Intensive farms are widespread in developed nations and increasingly prevalent worldwide. Most of the meat, dairy, eggs, fruits and vegetables available in supermarkets are produced by such farms. Smaller intensive farms usually include higher inputs of labour and more often use sustainable intensive methods. The farming practices commonly found on such farms are referred to as appropriate technology. These farms are less widespread in both developed countries and worldwide but are growing more rapidly. Most of the food available in specialty markets such as farmers markets is produced by these smallholder farms.
The district has an abundant amount of agricultural land which is geographically located between the urban and rural areas in the form of commercial agricultural farms. The agricultural pattern within the area is primarily due to the undulating topography, which prescribes the available land parcels out of the valley lines and along other major structuring elements. The agricultural industry is a prominent feature within the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, and therefore becomes a predominant land use within the area. The predominance is due to the rich natural resources and climatic conditions, which allow for the farming of produce such as sugar, bananas, timber, pawpaws, coffee, tea and exotic nuts along the coast, maize, legumes, cattle, vast pine, commercial forestry, wattle and eucalyptus plantations inland. Commercial agriculture activity is concentrated largely within a central band located south-east of Harding.
3.1.4.6 Subsistence Agriculture/ Grazing Land
Rural subsistence farming activity is generally equated with the traditional settlement areas of specifically the rural areas. The agricultural practices within the Traditional Settlement areas of Ugu are diversified with many households producing food for subsistence purposes. Rural subsistence agriculture is far more extensive in the southern traditional authority areas of KwaJali and KwaMachi in Harding. Due to the often-large degree of transformation of these areas in terms of grazing cover as well as institutional factors, grazing capacity and other resource constraints limit the extent to which livestock as well as farming could be expanded. Settlements such as Odidini, Imfume, Dududu, Mkhunya, Kenterton, Qoloqolo, Msinsini, Dweshula, Assissi, Qiniseleni and Ezingolweni villages are low density settlements which still practice subsistence agriculture.
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