Sahelian farms are often considered to be very homogenous in their vulnerability to externat shocks and their adaptation strategies. However a closer analysis shows that they tend to develop contrasting ways of adapting. An increasing number of farms are moving from a strict subsistence system to a more commercialized one. They generate their income from irrigated crops, livestock production, off-farm activities and get an increasing share of their resources from remittances. In return these various strategies influence their farming practices and their overall vulnerability. But the pathways of such adaptation strategies are not uniform. The drivers can be income, labor availability, soil quality, rainfall, or environmental change. Fanners' strategies are a response to local constraints and are often rooted in local knowledge, culture and local values. Thus, adaptation techniques are not necessarily easy to transpose between countries and region. There is no single model of adaptation. In this study we created a farm typology based on farmers' adaptation strategies starting from socio-economic data collected in five Sahelian countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Senegal and Nigeria) within the framework of the AMMA project. The analysis includes a multiple correspondence analysis and a cluster analysis. This classification into homogeneous groups improves the targeting of state sponsored and NGOs mitigation strategies.