The Bombay High Court on Thursday suggested to the state government to encourage the youth in villages to entirely or partially take up farming, instead of making a beeline to the urban areas.

A division bench of justices Naresh Patil and SB Shukhre said, "It is high time the administration starts working for the cause of farmers. A person who is feeding the entire nation cannot fix the price of his own commodity. Even a pencil seller is able to decide the price of his product, but the farmer's price is not regulated."

The court also noted that the government has to come out with a disaster policy for farmers in case there is scanty or no rainfall. It said that only paying debt will not work in the long run. The court also suggested to the state to consider having group insurance for farmers and provide advice from the horticulture department regarding the pattern of crops.

The court made these observations and directed government pleader A Vangyani to prepare a report and present it to the government, including suggestions given by the court. The suggestions were given during the hearing of a suo-moto public interest litigation (PIL) based on a newspaper report highlighting that 32 farmers in Marathwada region committed suicide within a week in September.