As a result of the livelihoods of millions of rural households being jeopardized due to soil degradation and the need to feed a growing population, decision-makers and research organizations in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are focusing on the sustainable intensification of agricultural systems, addressing, in particular, sustainable land management (SLM). Despite investments, land managers' acceptance and adoption of technologies and practices is still low (FAO, 2016). Furthermore, in cases where the adoption of sustainable land management practices was documented, it was later observed that the utilization of the practices occurred mostly during the SLM project life cycle and ended afterward (Giller et al., 2009; Anderson and D'Souza, 2014; Emerson & Snyder, 2018).This research uses the innovation systems framework to understand SLM in Mozambique, a country of 28 million inhabitants with more than 70% directly dependent on rural agriculture. The research uses qualitative methods to understand the role, perceptions, knowledge, and experiences of (a) promoters of sustainable land management, (b) agricultural extension workers, and (c) farmers in Sussundenga, Mozambique. The first essay uses social learning theory to understand learning processes and approaches in SLM, addressing (1) learning and the factors that promote or hinder learning; (2) the interactions between land management actors in innovation and learning processes; and (3) how these factors influence the process of innovation in SLM. We find that the nature of the organization will determine the learning strategies they adopt, and that learning is constrained by internal and external factors such as organizational learning mechanisms and the security of access to funding, respectively. We find minimum interactions between organizations that could learn from each other and between organizations and the farmers they are working with. Additionally, we do not find evidence of co-innovation and participatory innovation design with farmers. The actual setting of SLM in Mozambique is dominated by the perception of experts of what works and what is necessary. The second essay explores the paradigm shift in the provision of extension services, from supply-driven to demand-driven extension, which places learning at the center of the model. The essay's finding reveals that the provision of sustainable land management still follows the traditional transfer of technology and supply-driven extension model. Extension workers understand that land management as a complex and dynamic process that requires continuous updates of knowledge. The study's significant contribution is the understanding of learning among extension workers in sustainable land management. The formal learning process, through academic and on-the-job training, is perceived as the most important. The study finds evidence that social learning plays an important role in the success of sustainable land management. However, social learning among extension workers is constrained by limited opportunities and incentives to integrate this learning into broader sustainable land management advisory and extension systems. The third essay explores farmers' knowledge and belief systems on land management and how these influence farmers' strategies and decisions on land management. The study indicates a variety of indicators when assessing soil, and while these indicators provide an initial assessment of the soil, it is not sufficient to indicate the soil's actual condition. The laboratory analysis of the soil indicates that the farmer's classification of soil is not aligned with the actual soil condition. To address the perceived soil condition, farmers employ a variety of land management practices, both local and introduced by promoters. And they tend to neglect practices contrary to their beliefs. The study finds a disconnect between farmers’ interests and the approaches of external organizations to land management. Farmers tend to focus on short-term economic gains and livelihood improvements, while external organizations focus on improving medium- to long-term soil health and livelihoods.
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