Ready preferential capital to implement the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice

NDO - On November 7, in Dong Thap, the State Bank of Vietnam coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committee of Dong Thap province to organize a conference to deploy the preferential credit program to implement the project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta.

Outstanding rice loans reach about 124 trillion VND

Speaking at the conference, Permanent Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Dao Minh Tu emphasized: Rice is one of the key agricultural export products of our country.

With the aim of making Vietnam one of the pioneering countries in producing high-quality, low-emission rice, creating solid, breakthrough steps for the Vietnamese rice industry, meeting the requirements of new international trends, affirming and maintaining the position of our country's rice brand in the international market, the Prime Minister issued Decision 1490/QD-TTg dated November 27, 2023 approving the Project: "Sustainable development of one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030".

The State Bank of Vietnam and the banking sector have implemented many credit solutions to support people and businesses in the Mekong Delta to develop production and business in general and in high-quality rice production in particular.

Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu speaks at the Conference.

According to Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu, every year, the State Bank of Vietnam and its local branches organize conferences connecting banks and businesses and specialized conferences on credit for key agricultural products and rice in the Mekong Delta; at the same time, there are many documents directing credit institutions to focus on lending, expanding credit limits, simplifying lending processes and procedures... to meet capital needs from production (fertilizers, seeds, materials...) to processing, purchasing, and consuming agricultural products and rice; thereby creating maximum favorable conditions in credit relations for households, businesses, cooperatives producing, trading, and exporting rice.

According to data from the State Bank, by the end of September 2024, mobilization in the provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta region reached about 857 trillion VND (meeting 72% of credit capital demand in the area), an increase of 6.1% compared to the end of 2023; total outstanding credit reached about 1.18 million billion VND, an increase of 8% compared to the end of 2023. Of which, outstanding loans for the agricultural and rural sectors of the region reached about 643 trillion VND, an increase of 7% compared to 2023, accounting for 54% of total outstanding loans in the area.

Particularly for the rice industry - the region's strength - there has always been high credit growth, currently reaching about 124 trillion VND, an increase of 18% compared to the end of 2023, accounting for about 11% of outstanding regional credit and 53% of outstanding rice and paddy credit nationwide.

Agribank Deputy General Director Phung Thi Binh shared her opinion at the Conference.

As the only 100% state-owned commercial bank, Agribank always plays a key role in investing and developing “three rural areas” with the proportion of loans to agriculture, rural areas and farmers accounting for more than 60% of Agribank's total outstanding loans.

At the Conference, Agribank Deputy General Director Phung Thi Binh informed: By the end of October 2024, Agribank's total outstanding loans reached about 1.67 million billion VND, of which outstanding loans for agriculture and rural areas reached about 1.03 million billion VND, an increase of 6.65% compared to the beginning of the year, accounting for about 62% of total outstanding loans.

In the Mekong Delta alone, by the end of October 2024, Agribank's total outstanding loans reached about VND262 trillion, with agricultural and rural loans reaching more than VND214 trillion, accounting for nearly 82% of total outstanding loans. Of which, rice is the main product with an outstanding loan of nearly VND33 trillion, accounting for about 12.5% ​​of total outstanding loans, about 15.2% of agricultural and rural loans in the region. "This proportion is much higher than in other regions," Ms. Binh emphasized.

Chairman of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee Pham Thien Nghia highly appreciated the State Bank for actively implementing credit policies for agriculture and rural areas in recent times, and most recently, promoting the preferential credit program to implement the Project. With the support policies of the banking sector in production, it has brought practical results, creating conditions for local agriculture and rural areas to develop, people's lives have changed, 100% of communes have completed new rural areas, the poverty rate has decreased rapidly,...

Chain-based credit support

Regarding the task of the State Bank in the Project "Research and propose the development of a credit program to support the linkage of production, processing and consumption of high-quality and low-emission rice products in the Mekong Delta between cooperatives and enterprises; implementation period from 2025-2030", the State Bank has urgently coordinated with ministries, branches, People's Committees of 12 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta and related units to develop and submit a report to the Prime Minister on the Loan Program for the linkage of production, processing and consumption of high-quality and low-emission rice products in the Mekong Delta according to Decision 1490/QD-TTg.

On October 11, the State Bank sent documents to credit institutions and State Bank branches in provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region to guide the implementation of the Program; and sent documents to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committees of 12 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region to coordinate the implementation of a number of contents related to the tasks of ministries and localities so that credit institutions have a basis to make loans under the Program.

Providing more information about some of the main contents of the Loan Program, Ms. Ha Thu Giang - Director of the Department of Credit for Economic Sectors (State Bank of Vietnam) said: based on the 2 phases of implementing the Project according to Decision 1490, the Loan Program is also implemented in 2 phases, in which the pilot phase from now until the end of 2025 with Agribank as the main lending bank and the expansion phase from the end of the pilot to 2030 at credit institutions.

Ms. Ha Thu Giang informed about the content of the preferential credit program.

Currently, based on the content of the lending program framework under the direction of the State Bank, Agribank has issued internal guidelines to pilot the lending program. To implement Decision 1490/QD-TTg, Agribank and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to provide Agribank's products and services to subjects in line with the objectives of the Project, including deposit services, loan services and financial services.

“Agribank is building a closed lending product for all participants in the 1 million hectare rice program, from households and individuals growing rice to input material suppliers and export processing units. After today’s conference, Agribank will receive comments from delegates,” said Ms. Phung Thi Binh.

According to Ms. Ha Thu Giang, in addition to Agribank, the State Bank of Vietnam encourages other credit institutions to register for lending during the pilot phase and requests that banks prepare guidance documents for immediate implementation during the expansion phase.

To effectively implement the Loan Program, the State Bank proposes: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should promptly synthesize and publicly announce specialized areas, linkages and entities participating in linkages in production, processing and consumption of high-quality and low-emission rice products in the Mekong Delta according to the provisions of Decision 1490/QD-TTg for credit institutions to access, consider and decide on lending.

The People's Committees of 12 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta need to identify, list and announce specialized areas, linkages and entities participating in linkages in production, processing and consumption of high-quality and low-emission rice products in the area according to Decision 1490/QD-TTg under the guidance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; at the same time, send it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for synthesis and general announcement so that credit institutions can access, consider and decide on loans; promptly notify the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of cases where entities are no longer participating in rice linkages...

At the Conference, many delegates also expressed their hope that with the determination and synchronous implementation of ministries, branches, localities and credit institutions, in which the main lending agency of the Program in the pilot phase is Agribank, the implementation of the preferential credit program to implement the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality and low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta will achieve positive results, contributing to increasing the output and export value of the rice industry, expanding the market, affirming the brand and enhancing the position of the Vietnamese rice industry in the international arena.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/san-sang-nguon-von-uu-dai-thuc-hien-de-an-1-trieu-hac-ta-lua-chat-luong-cao-phat-thai-thap-post843552.html