This paper provides a description of the Food Security Research Project (FSP) implemented by SOS Sahelin Wollaita in the southern region of Ethiopia. According to even the most conservative estimates, over 45% of Ethiopians are chronically food insecure even in a ‘normal’ year. To date, efforts to tackle this problem have depended heavily on annual emergencyreliefoperations. The FSP was designed in the context of a new direction in disaster management in the country which stresses preparedness and prevention, and which explicitly attempts to link relief with development.