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Small-scale farmers all over the developing world, and in Africa in particular, increasingly engage with markets. While for many smallholders self-provisioning remains an important goal—indeed, there are still relatively few farm households in Africa that do not devote much of their land and labour to growing crops and raising animals for their own consumption—increasingly produce may be sold while inputs to raise production such as financial services, information and advice are bought in.

In the past smallholders aimed first and foremost to produce food for the household even if they also produced small surpluses that could be sold on village and district markets to acquire other goods and services necessary to maintain the household. Over time small farms tend to become more commercialised. When farmers get access to larger markets than those of the village or the district—as cities grow and as farming areas become linked to them by passable roads, rail or navigation—they usually respond by producing more for these markets.