In the quest to overcome poverty, farm households engage in various non-farm activities. This
study therefore examined pluriactive households in Kwara State, Nigeria. It also examines the activities
that are non-farm; the reasons why rural households diversify into such activities; and the factors that
predispose the farmers to diversify. Primary data was used for the study. Descriptive statistics, diversity
index and Kruskal-Wallis test were the analytical tools used for the study. The results of the findings show
that most of those who engage in non-farm activities are male, with Trading and Civil service being the
major non-farm activities the rural households diversify into. Most rural households diversify in order to
improve their standard of living. The diversity of activities increases as the number of activities in the study
area increases. The results also reveal that the need to increase income and the small farm sizes of the
rural households predispose them most to engage in non-farm activities. It is therefore recommended that
rural households should engage in activities that would help them achieve the goal of reducing their state
of poverty. Government and development agencies should help provide credit facilities to help the rural
households intensify their engagement in these activities