The relationship between rapid population growth and the capacity of our earth has been a matter of controversies for a long time and would continue so in the future. This article is crucial in providing theoretical discourses given by both Multhusians and Boserupians and shows whether the current rural population growth and access to farmland coincides with either Malthusians' or Boserupians' views by taking empirical evidences from Ethiopia. The result shows that the rapid growth of population has resulted in shortage of farmland, and fragmentation through time and in turn affect smallholder agriculture and sustainability of rural livelihoods. Thus, the result calls for further interventions in family planning to limit the rapid population growth, intensification of agricutural production and enhancing non-farm actvities.