On November 7, 2024, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the People's Committee of Dong Thap province, organized a Conference on the preferential credit for the implementation of the Program of one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta.
Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu speaks at the Conference
In his opening speech, Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu of the SBV emphasized that rice is one of the key agricultural exports of Vietnam. With the aim of making Vietnam become one of the pioneering countries in producing high-quality, low-emission rice, creating a solid and breakthrough step for Vietnamese rice industry, meeting the requirements of the emerging international trends, affirming and maintaining the position of Vietnam’s rice brand in the international market, the Prime Minister had issued Decision No.1490/QD-TTg dated November 27, 2023 approving the "Sustainable development program of one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice cultivation associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030" (the Program).
Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu of the SBV, Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Chairman Pham Thien Nghia of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee co-chair the Conference
Before this Program, the SBV had directed the entire banking sector to implement various credit solutions to support the people and businesses in the Mekong Delta to develop their production and business operations.
Speaking at the Conference, Ms. Ha Thu Giang, Director General of the Department of Credit for Economic Sectors of the SBV, shared that, by end of September 2024, the credit outstanding for the rice sector in the Mekong Delta reached about VND 124 trillion, an increase of 18% as compared to end of 2023 (7.3% higher than the growth rate and accounting for about 53% of the total loan outstanding for the rice sector nationwide).
Ms. Ha Thu Giang, Director General of the Department of Credit for Economic Sectors of the SBV
At the Conference, several representatives of the relevant agencies delivered reports on the implementation progress of the Program; the implementation of the internal guidelines by Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) regarding the preferential credit for the one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice program in the Mekong Delta in accordance with Decision No.1490/QD-TTg. Moreover, representatives of several business associations, companies, cooperatives, and farmer households also shared about their plans and expectations from participating in the Program, as well as the difficulties that they are facing, so that the relevant entities can join hands to resolve them.
Toward the end of the Conference, Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu emphasized that, in order to effectively implement the preferential credit package, it is necessary to have the synchronous coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the People's Committees of the 12 provinces in the Mekong Delta, by promptly collecting information and announcing the specialized rice cultivation areas, the linkages and the entities participating in the linkages in production, processing and consumption of high-quality and low-emission rice products in the Mekong Delta,... so that the credit institutions can access, consider and decide to provide credit.
Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu also requested the SBV branches in the 12 Mekong Delta provinces to direct and closely monitor the lending operations under the Program by the Agribank branches in their areas; coordinate with the provincial Departments and agencies to organize the implementation of the Program in their areas; promptly advise the SBV, the Provincial People's Committees in addressing any arising obstacles in the implementation of the credit package. Agribank is also requested to promote their lending operations under the Program, and strengthen the communication and information in the Mekong Delta, so that all corporate customers, cooperatives and farmers know about and can access the policy.
The SBV Deputy Governor expressed his beliefs that, with the determination and the synchronous implementation of the Ministries, the agencies, the local authorities and the credit institutions, the preferential credit package would be implemented with positive results, contributing to increasing the outputs and the export value of the rice sector, helping to expand the markets, affirming the national rice brand, and enhancing the position of Vietnamese rice sector in the international market.
Le Hang