Inter-generational occupational mobility is the relationship in occupations adopted by the successive generations within the members of the same family like father-son, father-daughter, mother-son, mother-daughter. This study tries to examine the association in between the occupation of father and the son for transformation of farming occupations into non-farming using Nepalese data from rural context.  A well-structured questionnaire schedule was used to collect information from a total of 385 father son pairs in Gajuri rural municipality of province No 3 in Nepal. Information was collected from those fathers and/or son, the senior son of a father who was married at the time of interview and whose father was alive by using face to face interview. The quantitative information was analyzed using univariate, bivariate and multivariate analytical tools and the results were interpreted using odds ratios of binary logistic regressions.

The causal factors for creating occupational mobility from farming to non-farming sectors have been clustered around three sets of variables -father’s characteristics, son’s characteristics and household characteristics. Findings from binary logistic regression suggested that in reference to the farming father, the sons of the non-farming fathers have at least three times more likely to quitting from agriculture in order to catch off-farm employments. Among the parental characteristics, the sons of those fathers having social networks are 77 percent more likely to exit from farming. Among the three sets of variables, son’s own level of education and migration are instrumental as indicated by statistically significant odds ratios greater than unity in order to quit farming occupation. On caste/ethnicity ground, Janajatis which include Magar, Tamang and Chepang in the study area are having higher odds compared to Brahmin Chhetri and Newars (BCN) in leaving the agriculture. Although, son’s own characteristics are foremost in determining the taking flights from agriculture, there are other factors like kinds of occupations and social networks of father contributing occupational shifts in between generations from traditional farming into more diversified non-farm sectors.

Keywords: Continuity, change, farming, father, non-farming, son