Leveraging Change: Perceived Relevance and Organisational Support for Agents of Change for Sustainable Land Management in Agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand

This study examines the role of agents of change (AoCs) in promoting environmentally sustainable land management in Aotearoa New Zealand's (AoNZ's) agricultural system. Survey responses from 196 individuals across five organisational types highlighted significant sustainability challenges in nine agricultural sectors. Dairy was perceived as the least sustainable; mixed farming as the most sustainable, albeit still facing moderate environmental challenges. Respondents generally agreed that substantial or transformative changes in land management are necessary. The study assessed the perceived relevance and perceived organisational support for 12 human and 10 non‐human AoC types. While overall alignment between perceived relevance and perceived support was strong, inconsistencies and weaker alignment at the individual AoC level suggest additional factors influence support. Based on systems theory, AoCs were categorised by intervention depth using a leverage points framework, from shallow (e.g., policy parameters, feedbacks) to deep (e.g., system design, intent). Findings weakly supported hypothesis: shallow AoCs receive more recognition ( rho = –.16, p < 0.001) and support ( rho = –.12, p < 0.001) than deeper ones. This study underscores the importance of understanding AoCs within a systems framework and highlights the opportunity to strengthen support for AoCs driving transformative, system‐level change in AoNZ's land management practices.