A growing empirical literature underlines the fact that the subsistence of African rural households relies heavily on non-farm revenues. It is shown that non farm earnings account for a considerable share of farm household income in rural Africa (Reardon, 1997; Reardon and al., 1998). The literature points out push and pull factors that explain that agricultural production is less attractive for individuals and alternative activities more profitable. However, it is essential to emphasize the fact that these determinants may differ according to the type of considered diversification: in particular, the paper proposes to study the case of migration as a strategy of revenue diversification. Drawing on the existing theoretical and empirical literature, we identify the advantages and drawbacks of local diversification versus migration decision in terms of expected pay-offs and risk for the family and the individual. Especially, we consider the family as a basis of reciprocal relations and point out the fact that its role of insurance for each member may change when the latter migrates. We then test this proposition on original data collected in two villages of the Groundnut Basin of Senegal. We find that local diversification and migration decisions are weak substitutes. We suggest that the former is an individual decision whereas the latter involve a collective arrangement, and they reflect thus different strategies (individual well-being, familial vulnerability).