Lawmakers today urged Filipino farmers to promote bio-organic farming as a safer system in rice production as they warned that pesticides, insecticides and other agricultural chemical are hazardous to health.

Reps. Roseller Barinaga (2nd District, Zamboanga Del Norte), Judy Syjuco (2nd District, Iloilo), and Juan Miguel Zubiri (3rd District, Bukidnon) have introduced a measure establishing a comprehensive bio-organic program.

Bio-organic farming is a system which avoids the use of chemical or inorganic farm inputs, pesticides, weedicides and feed additives, and primarily relies on biological means of conditioning and enriching the soil and controlling pests.

"The use of chemicals in farm lots is a health hazard as these chemicals pollute the environment, as well as the water sources," Zubiri stressed.

"This is the reason why some multi national companies are transferring their plantation sites to lands suitable for bio-farming because of lawsuits arising from adverse effects of chemical fertilizers," Zubiri said.

Zubiri described the country's farmland as suffering from "fertilizer fatigue" or multiple nutrient deficiencies in the soil. "This can be attributed to the excessive use of fertilizers," he said.

At present, Zubiri said the Philippine rice has a toxicity value of 0.83 parts per million far higher as compared to that of the acceptable rice toxicity content of 0.015 parts per million as prescribed by the United Nations.

For his part, Barinaga said the government must focus on research and development pointing out that the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) should come up with a variety of rice that is completely compatible with organic fertilizer.

Barinaga cited result in satellite farms in Zambales using the "Masipag" method of organic farming that native and traditional rice varieties respond well to organic fertilizers. "These rice varieties are also pest resistant," he added.

"The program is designed to develop and propagate bio organic cultivation and production methods, educate more farmers on bio-organic farming, and provide extension services to individuals or groups who are practicing the method," Barinaga said.