Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), said that throughout the process of construction and development, Agribank always applies and effectively promotes guiding viewpoints. The Party’s wisdom in the field of agriculture and rural areas, thereby contributing to Agribank’s sustainable development, affirming its leading position in investment in the field of “tam nong”.
Resolution of the 10th Agribank Party Congress, term 2020 – 2025 affirms that one of the general goals of Agribank development is “Maintaining a key position in the agricultural and rural financial market” and That goal continues to be realized in the Development Strategy Project to 2025, with a vision to 2030.
Agribank Party Committee has led and directed the serious implementation of Action Program No. 01-CTr/DU-NHNo dated September 29, 2020 to implement the Resolution of the Party Congress of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development 10th Vietnam; along with thematic Resolutions consistent with Agribank’s operational practices.
Also according to Ms. Phuong, Agribank has seriously and proactively implemented solutions and directed the monetary policy management of the State Bank to support agricultural and rural development, effectively promoting its key role. in the banking system providing credit and lending for agricultural and rural development. Agribank continues to effectively deploy preferential credit policies to contribute to the good implementation of national target programs and ensure social security for the agricultural sector, farmers and rural areas.
These include credit programs and policies for industries, sectors, and economic recovery and development programs under the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister; Deploying the tasks of the banking industry to implement national target programs for building new rural areas and the national target program for sustainable poverty reduction.
Through programs, Agribank has promptly provided preferential credit to organizations and individuals operating in the agricultural and rural sectors. Agribank has signed a cooperation program with the Central New Rural Coordination Office in building new rural areas for the period 2016-2020, and at the same time issued documents directing each branch in the entire system to implement the program. cooperate and pilot new rural models.
Starting as a pilot with 11 communes in 2011, by the end of 2012, the program had been deployed nationwide. To date, Agribank has deployed loans to 100% of communes implementing new rural construction with nearly 8,300 communes, loan turnover since implementing the program is more than 4 million billion VND, outstanding debt is more than 610 thousand billion VND with more than 2 .2 million customers. Agribank’s capital has supported and created conditions to help the rural appearance gradually change.
Agribank provided loans to support poor districts according to Resolution 30a/2008/NQ-CP of the Government on supporting rapid and sustainable poverty reduction, for 61 poor districts, with total loan turnover reaching over 13 trillion VND, with Nearly 220 thousand poor households and policy beneficiaries received loans from Agribank.
The current outstanding loan balance under this policy at Agribank is 395 billion VND, with a total of 2,759 outstanding customers. Agribank has supported interest rates for poor households and policy beneficiaries with loans under the program of over 530 billion VND. Agribank’s capital has contributed to creating conditions for people to increase their income, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty; contributing to reducing the country’s poverty rate from 14.5% in 2008 to 4.03% in 2022.
Agribank lends according to Decisions 63, 65, 68 on support policies to reduce losses in agriculture. Deployed since 2011, up to now, Agribank has disbursed loans with a revenue of more than 14,400 billion VND, outstanding debt of 226 billion VND with a total number of outstanding customers of over 1,200 customers. Agribank’s capital has contributed to promoting the mechanization of agricultural production, contributing to improving productivity, quality, competitiveness, and meeting the domestic market and the world’s leading high-end markets.
In addition, Agribank lends according to Decree 67/2014/ND-CP of the Government on a number of fisheries development policies, creating conditions for fishermen to go offshore, stick to the sea, and fish offshore in 28 coastal provinces. . Or loans for coffee replanting: Loan revenue from the beginning of the program to date is nearly 1,000 billion VND, current outstanding debt is 136 billion VND with a total number of outstanding customers of 246 customers. Agribank’s loan capital has supported people in effectively implementing coffee replanting, increasing harvest productivity, improving output, contributing to making Vietnam one of the leading producing and exporting countries. The world’s leading coffee.
Regarding cooperative loans, up to now, Agribank’s total outstanding cooperative loans is more than 1,630 billion VND (accounting for 15.5% of the total outstanding cooperative loans of the entire commercial banking system) with the amount 653 Cooperatives. The average loan balance per cooperative is 2.5 billion VND. In particular, outstanding debt mainly focuses on the following industries: Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; Wholesale and retail; Transportation and warehousing; Manufacturing and processing industry; Outstanding loans with secured assets account for about 95% of total outstanding loans to cooperatives.
Agribank also focuses on investing in high-tech agriculture. In particular, starting from November 2016, Agribank implemented a preferential credit program with a minimum scale of VND 50,000 billion to serve clean agricultural production. By the end of September 2023, Agribank’s loan turnover since the start of the program has reached over 30,000 billion VND, outstanding loans reached over 2,000 billion VND with nearly 300 customers.
In addition, Agribank has proactively balanced capital resources to fully and promptly meet capital needs for the agricultural and rural sectors and implemented many specific credit programs to contribute to supporting businesses and people. Investing in the development of some of Vietnam’s strong agricultural products such as rice and seafood. Agribank has actively implemented solutions to stabilize capital resources, reduce input costs to reduce lending interest rates to support and share with customers.
Specifically: Agribank has made 5 adjustments to reduce normal interest rates, 3 times to reduce interest rates for priority sector lending (accordingly, it has reduced lending interest rates from 2-4% in 2023). .
Agribank launches a preferential credit program for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) customers with the aim of supplementing working capital to implement customers’ production and business plans, prioritizing the fields of manufacturing, processing and trading of agricultural, forestry, aquatic products, salt industry, high-tech agriculture, clean agriculture.
Preferential credit program to finance export and import customers applies to businesses that produce and trade export and import goods (export of rice, meat, seafood, coffee, agricultural products, handicrafts). fine arts industry…; import of beverages, fertilizers, machinery and equipment, petroleum, cosmetics, construction materials…).
Along with that, Agribank also actively implements interest rate support programs according to Decree No. 31/2022/ND-CP; Social housing loan program according to Resolution 33/NQ-CP; Deploying debt repayment term restructuring and maintaining the same debt group to support customers facing difficulties in production and business activities and customers having difficulty repaying loans to serve their daily and consumer needs according to the Circular. 02/2023/TT-NHNN dated April 23, 2023 of the State Bank…
In 2023, Agribank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide products and services to subjects under the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project with a budget of 800 million USD.
Content of the Memorandum of Understanding to implement a cooperation program to provide banking products and services to subjects under the Project “Sustainable development of 1 million hectares specializing in high-quality rice cultivation and low emissions associated with growth green the Mekong Delta until 2030” (Project).
The goal of the Project is to form 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission specialized rice growing areas associated with reorganizing the production system along the value chain, applying sustainable farming processes to adapt to change. climate, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving the income and life of rice growers, ensuring national food security, social stability, improving the quality and reputation of Vietnamese rice products. on the world market and towards a transparent, responsible and sustainable rice industry.
Subjects, areas and time of implementation of the Project are businesses, cooperatives, cooperative groups, and farmers; Agricultural/technical staff on production processes, measurement and inventory of greenhouse gas emissions…
Project implementation areas are in the following provinces: An Giang, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, Long An, Soc Trang, Can Tho, Bac Lieu, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Ca Mau, Tien Giang and Vinh Long. Project implementation time is from 2024 to 2030.
Total investment for a specialized rice cultivation area of one million hectares: about 800 million USD, equivalent to 19,000 billion VND (Average investment per hectare: 800 USD/ha). Capital to implement the Project is mobilized from 3 sources: international organizations, non-refundable funding from the Carbon Asset Conversion Fund (TCAF) and Carbon Finance Funds around the world, priority ODA loans to respond to climate change and reduce emissions.
Investment capital from businesses, farmers, organizations and individuals at home and abroad, other legal funding sources according to the provisions of law. Capital from the State budget for public investment and annual regular expenditures, integrating resources in national target programs and central and local public investment programs and projects for the period 2021-2025 and 2026-2030.
Agribank will advise, support, and provide products and services to participants in the Project. Notify Agribank branches in the area within the scope of the Project to implement the contents of the Memorandum of Understanding. At the same time, grasp the needs and guide businesses and individuals participating in the Project to use products and services according to the provisions of law and Agribank.
Providing Agribank products and services in accordance with the goals of the Project. Including the following products and services: Deposit services: Account opening, deposit services, account management services, centralized capital management, automatic investment. Loan services: Providing appropriate credit for the needs of actors in the production and trading of high-quality rice, reducing emissions. Financial services. Payment services: Domestic payment, international payment. Foreign exchange products and services. Other products and services: Overdraft, credit cards, insurance…
By June 2023, Agribank’s outstanding loans to the agricultural and rural sectors reached more than 900,000 billion VND, accounting for 64% of the total outstanding loans to the economy and continued to lead the investment banking industry for this sector. three rural”. Agribank has made persistent efforts to bring the Government’s preferential credit policy to the people, especially poor households and policy beneficiaries across the country, giving people across the country the opportunity to receive Access official preferential capital from the State, thereby improving quality of life.