Rural poverty is the mam constituent of poverty worldWlde and 1s measurable in terms of undernutrihon, shorter life expectancy, and tlltteracy. Of ten southern African countnes, Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland have dietary energy supplies per ca put m excess of requirements, and the remaining countnes have food deficits. But average figures conceal mequality, and poverty and undernutrition are shown to be widespread m the less developed rural areas of Lesotho, South Afnca, and Swaziland (the three countries examined m detail m this paper), where few rural families produce marketable surpluses of food. Incomes m the three countries derive mainly from migrant earnings and remittances, land may be underutilized because off-farm earnings of men exceed the incomes that may be earned from their tribal land allotments, and the domestic demands on women restrict their capacity to be farmers. Inadequate access to land is a major constraint to development, along with the inhibitions of a tribal authority system, lack of infrastructure, inadequate education and extension, restrictions of labour flows to towns, and the high retail pnce of rural food.