In recent years Ethiopia has experienced recurring droughts and famines of serious magnitude. This study examines some of the diverse factors that impact household food security in Ethiopia including the drought-related factors. The study also analyses the implications of such impacts on agricultural development policy. The case study material comes from Birbirsa na Dogoma in Ambo District in the Oromiya Region in Ethiopia. The study area was purposively selected but it can be shown to be representative according to a number of criteria. Many of Ethiopia's staple crops are grown in the district and the farming system and the farmers are typical of those in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The study was undertaken at the level of the district to determine the extent that officials of the relevant institutions agree with the farmers on the perceptions of the main causes of household food insecurity. The underlying idea tested is that farmers' perceived needs should be taken into account in national policy. Fieldwork focused closely on the extent to which farmers' perceptions were taken into account in achieving household food security. A very comprehensive survey was also conducted of the perceptions and approaches of officials at the district and village levels. The study shows that the rural communities of Ethiopia are trapped in low input and low output farming systems and have no capacity to mobilize investment inputs to increase productivity in terms of returns to land and water or to other inputs. Like many political economies south of the Sahara the majority of the Ethiopian population gain livelihoods in rural areas from rain-fed farming with few options for off-farm employment. The mobilization of farm and village level surpluses is impaired, and in the case of major tracts of Ethiopia such mobilization is prevented, by pernicious annual climatic and economic cycles, which prevent the accumulation of surpluses to meet the recurring environmental stress of periods of drought.