Off‐farm work is a widespread, two‐edged, phenomenon that can help both the survival and the demise of small‐ and medium‐sized agricultural exploitations. Given the prevalence of poverty in rural areas, nonfarm income has been credited with helping farmers to survive. But the observed shrinking of rural areas has also raised the question of whether off‐farm work is pulling farmers permanently away from farming. This paper explores the impact of farmer characteristics on the decision to work off‐farm in developing countries where this phenomenon has been largely neglected. A review of theory and prior empirical work suggests four main hypotheses which we test empirically. The results suggest that while some farmer characteristics appear to be universal, others appear to be country‐ or culture‐specific.

Agriculture and rurality have come under severe pressure in the last few decades. The loss of agricultural land and, hence, farming, through urban expansion has been pervasive. As a consequence, farmers tend to engage in pluriactivity to supplement their low farm income. This study explores the pervasiveness and underlying motivation behind pluriactivity by Algerian farmers. Algeria is a particularly interesting case where agriculture has been hit by severe and unique challenges. In particular, Algerian farmers spent more than a decade under the threat of terrorism, followed by a decade and a half of Dutch disease effects. The analysis of a survey data shows that pluriactivity has offered the Algerian farmer the required adaptation capability to survive these two challenges which, ultimately, would sustain agriculture in Algeria.

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The developing world has witnessed a significant growth in population and consumption demand. This growth, which is expected to continue for decades, would entail increasing pressure to overexploit natural resources and the inevitable limitation of people’s ability to produce food. Other threats abound. Climate change, political instability and poverty are but a few. Yet, despite being endowed with more natural resources, the developing countries have not yet ensured sustainable food security. This article explores the impact of various inhibiting and promoting factors on food security in general and whether these factors have a differential impact in low-income and developing countries. It also discusses the main policy implications of our empirical results.

We examine the efficiency of 113 countries in exploiting their natural resources to achieve food independence. Our results suggest that food independence is determined by natural resources endowments, and research and development. Per-capita agricultural land, renewable freshwater and irrigation increase food independence, whereas temperature rise and storm severity have the reverse effect. Food independence efficiency is promoted by the presence of strong legal rights and infrastructure, but inhibited by population growth, agriculture volatility and oil rents. Our findings also suggest that oil-producing countries are the least efficient, but contrary to expectations, low-income economies are more efficient than industrialized economies.