This paper, presenting an update of the current research works in France in the field of poverty and social intervention in the agricultural and rural areas, shows the conditions for the development of knowledges, based on knowledge from the human and social sciences and from the observations conducted by and with social action professionals. Beyond identifying situations that characterize rural areas, it highlights the contribution of different methods of investigation to refine the view on the living conditions of the poorest, the capacity of adaptation they have, and the mechanisms that are set up for them.