This chapter provides a general introduction to current discussions on family farming in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia and Ecuador, as part of a larger project titled “Analysis of rural poverty and inequality in Latin America” produced by RIMISP for IFAD in 2013. Our analysis of family farming focused on gaining an understanding of the broader processes affecting agriculture and rural development generally in the region. The main objective was to examine the characteristics of family farming in all eight countries of Latin America and come up with a typology to better understand this sector’s contribution to the rural economy as a whole. The theoretical elements and methodology used in these studies were developed on the basis of the shared expertise of the authors responsible for each country study, establishing criteria and indicators to enable the comparative work to be done. The results of the studies highlighted the importance of agriculture as an economic activity to the reproduction of such units all over the continent, and showed that specialized family farmers are the largest group in relation to the total. Moreover, we verified the function of rural residency and the combination of activities and income sources as important features of all the countries studied. Non- agricultural income and non-agricultural activities by family farmers are low but not negligible. Finally, despite the well-known heterogeneity of family farming in each country, the analyses made it possible to identify significant differences and inequalities between regions and countries. The study also made recommendations on the need to improve the intersector and territorial dynamics of family farming, and to think beyond the entry point to rural property to construct policies and actions under a broader approach that includes rural development and food security. We determined that it is not sufficient to simply recognize the existence of heterogeneity in family farming but rather to change policy design, which calls for adjustments to programmes and actions during the implementation process. A final recommendation has to do with the need to improve databases and standardize methodologies and information sources on family farming in Latin America.