THE ROLE OF EXTENSION OFFICERS IN HELPING FARMERS ACCESS GLOBAL MARKETS : Case of Wool Production at Mnquma Local Municipality. N. Ndzimande Department of Rural Development & Agrarian Reform, Eastern Cape Province, P/Bag X3090, Butterworth 4960. Tel (W): 047 491 3615. Cell : 083 294 0688. Fax : 086 601 7599. Email Address: nzimandend@gmail.com OBJECTIVE To determine the use of agricultural education influence of extension officers in making sure that farmers access global wool markets INTRODUCTION Mnquma LM is one of the 8 local municipalities within the Amathole district which is itself one of the six district forming the Eastern Cape. Mnquma has a very high agricultural potential with Maize and livestock being the leading commodities. Sheep production is a growing commodity within the municipality and is shown by the quantity, quality and the sales of the wool. To ensure the growth & high performance of the commodity to work with all the extensionist which are placed per ward to influence the production. METHODOLOGY Use of government and non-government policies/documents. Informal interviews with officers from public and private sector were done. RESULTS & DISCUSSION Table 1: levels of production per province Table 2: Countries where SA wool is exported to. In making sure that the mission of exporting wool of good quality the department has partnered with NWGA which has since developed a set of guidelines for best practice production such as animal well-being, sustainable resource management and social well-being. The guidelines are then achieved with hand to hand work of Extensionists and all other organisations that has the same aim of wool improvement and export. The guideline criteria are based on several existing global certification schemes (e.g. EU standards; Global Gap, organic standards). Production quality improves yearly and the income on sales increases yearly. SOME OF COUNTRIES SA WOOL EXPORTED TO: 90% UK Japan Germany China France Italy South Korea Taiwan LEVELS PRODUCTION PER PROVINCE Eastern Cape 25.1% Free State 24.1% Western Cape 19.9% Northern Cape 12.5% Mpumalanga 7.7% Are Extensionists on the ground competent to guide farmers into the global world and support them from start of the project to exporting? YES Education (Non- Accredited trainings, Demonstration & Workshops) Management (Dosing, feeding) Production & Marketing Table 3: Production & sales for the past 3 years Production for past 3 years (Bales) Year 1 (2013/14) Year 2 (2013/15) Year 3 (2015/16) Total No. of Bales 461 608 714 1783 Amount Received R2 760 000 R3 860 000 R4 590 844 R11 210 844 RECOMMANDATION AND CONCLUSION Most farmers are still using their own rondavels for sheep shearing, sorting and baling, therefore building of more shearing sheds is a need. The problem of wool theft is also a very serious issue that needs to be addressed by the South African government. More capacitation of extension officers to ensure that all the requirements that are set by exporting countries are met.