The easy availability during whole year and nutrient content of wastewater sludge plays a strong supportive role for increasing use of wastewater in agriculture. Increasing population and urbanization pressurizes food demands, socio-economic and environmental stresses. Urban or Periurban Agriculture (UPA) provides a complementary strategy to reduce food insecurity and enhance urban environmental management in the context of rural-urban linkage. It is observed that nutrients contain in wastewater results in higher crop yields and thereby considerably reduces use of artificial fertilizers as well as fertilizers cost. But on the other hand it has an adverse effect that poses health risks directly to farmers and farm - workers. The aim of present study is to examine the opportunities and challenges of wastewater irrigation in UPA. This study tried to estimate the benefits and cost of production as well as health cost due to wastewater through a primary survey among the 382 households in the vicinity of UPA area of Varanasi district. Primary data were collected from 6 wastewater irrigated (WWI) and 6 freshwater irrigated (FWI) villages for the crosssection analysis. Through a case study of the UPA areas tried to establish a relationship between two deferent irrigation water users. The results of the study reveal that wastewater for irrigation has higher benefit-costs ratio compare than freshwater areas. But at the same time higher morbidity rate as well as cost of illness has been found in the WWI areas than compared to FWI areas. Study concludes that there are evidences that wastewater has a potential to reduce the production cost and return approximately 68.03 percent higher than FWI area.
