​In low-income countries, rural areas are currently home to the majority of households. Most households in these rural areas are engaged in small-scale agriculture. As economies grow and countries develop it is expected that some households will specialise in farming, but that many others will move out – or ‘step out’ – of farming. Household members will take up work in the rural non-farm economy (RNFE) or migrate to towns and cities.

This Topic Guide has been produced by ODI with the assistance of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), contracted through the Climate, Environment, Infrastructure and Livelihoods Professional Evidence and Applied Knowledge Services (CEIL PEAKS) programme, jointly managed by DAI (which incorporates HTSPE Limited) and IMC Worldwide Limited.

Steve Wiggins and Sharada Keats