In many post-Soviet countries, more than half of all urban households use small land plots to produce signiÖcant agricultural output even though their members have paid jobs or collect state pensions. Existing studies suggest that in Russia such ìsecond agricultureî helps smooth consumption during times of economic uncertainty. Using household budget survey data, I study the role of ìsecond agricultureîin Belarus and Ukraine, two countries that di§er signiÖcantly in the coverage of their social safety nets. I Önd that in both countries most urban households use their small land plots for leisure, and since the mid-1990s they tend to move away from this activity. The Ukrainian urban poor indeed use the ìsecond agricultureîto substitute for the lack of social transfers, while in Belarus the poor are better covered and for them it is more of a leisure.