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The changing paradigm from a linear economy to a bio-based circular economy is key to sustainable urban waste management planning. The goal is to reduce the environmental damages, enhance food supply, increase employment opportunities and broke the vicious circle of poverty. This study performs a focalized analysis and investigates the influencing factors of urban farmers' Willingness to Pay (WTP) for organic fertilizer in District Mardan, Pakistan. The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was used and data were randomly collected from 384 heads of the household of urban farmers. Data was set in SPSS software version 22.0 and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Logit Model. The study revealed that a major proportion (62.5%) of solid waste is generated from domestic sources followed by commercial (26.9%), institutions (5.8%) and industrial (2.9%) sources. While the majority of respondents (81%) were concerned about the unsafe disposal of solid waste and are willing to pay for organic fertilizer alternative to chemical fertilizer for urban agriculture. We also found that socio-economic variables namely education, monthly expenses, and agriculture farm size positively affect farmers' WTP for organic fertilizer. Conversely, households' size and land tenure of the farmer has a negative influence on farmers' WTP. An Integrated Resource Recovery Centre (IRRC) is needed for green waste management to change the current paradigm by transforming the waste into a valuable resource. The application of WTP can be an effective tool for urban planners and policymakers to incorporate the views of urban dwellers for sustainable SWM, food self-sufficiency and financial autonomy of the public utility company.

South Asia is one of the most densely populated regions of the world, where despite a slow growth, agriculture remains the backbone of rural economy as it employs one half to over 90 percent of the labor force. Both extensive and intensive policy measures for agriculture development to feed the massive population of the region have resulted in land degradation and desertification, water scarcity, pollution from agrochemicals, and loss of agricultural biodiversity. The social and ethical aspects portray even a grimmer picture of the region with growing poverty mainly, amongst small farmers, food scarcity, and overall poor quality of life. This article reviews the historical perspective of agriculture development in the region and gives a panoramic view of the policy initiatives and their environmental as well as social and ethical spin-offs. The aim is to explore the environmental and ethical dimensions of the agricultural development in South Asia and recommend a holistic approach in formulating plans and programs to combat environmental degradation, hunger, and poverty resulting from unsustainable agricultural practices.

Pakistan is one of the developing countries, where the majority of the population resides in rural areas with a high poverty rate. Microfinance in rural areas is considered an effective tool not only making the people financially strong but at the same time improving their standard of living. The current research investigates the impact of local NGOs on rural life in the northern areas of Pakistan.in this regard, a parametric approach, Structural equation Modelling (SME) was applied to analyze the impact of microfinance projects on welfare using a case of four microfinance NGOs. The data was collected from 566 respondents using a pre-designed questionnaire. The results show the welfare of the people increased in terms of income, consumption, empowerment, employment. The findings imply that the loan size should be increased so that the respondents’ would be able to save and acquire more assets. In addition, Ngo microfinance organizations initiate programs such as education and health awareness along with training on entrepreneurial skills before granting loans so that the microfinance loan can be utilized efficiently.

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