Family farming represents the social base for most developing countries and constitutes the main form of agricultural organisation worldwide. It contributes to both domestic and international markets. Family farming thus accounts for almost 80% of global food production, 98% of food production in Sub-Saharan Africa and almost all cotton, cocoa and coffee production worldwide. Covering around 40% of the planet’s agricultural land, family farms are the number one source of employment worldwide. Yet they also paradoxically account for the majority of farmers living in poverty and food insecurity. Family farms are hugely diverse in terms of cultivated area, equipment used and type of production. They exist in all ecosystems, from arid grazing lands and urban hinterlands to the large fertile agricultural plains.