Employment in non-farm activities has become an important aspect of the lives of a large number of people in the rural areas of Sri Lanka as in several other developing countries. While this is basically an economic phenomenon, it has an important social aspect because those affected are mostly the rural poor. For the growing numbers of these people who are not being absorbed fast enough in agriculture or in urban-based industry, and are actually obliged to leave the land partially or fully, non- farm activities have become a part of their survival strategy. This paper attempts to develop some useful perspectives, to provide a better understanding of the issues by assembling and interpreting a wealth of data found scattered in numerous sources, and to present a strategy for the promotion of non-farm employment.