Priority credit flows to "agriculture, farmers, and rural areas".
According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Canh, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, agriculture , farmers, and rural areas have always been identified as priority areas in credit management. Based on this, the State Bank of Vietnam has advised the Government to issue Decree No. 55/2015/ND-CP on credit policies serving agricultural and rural development, and regularly reviews, supplements, and refines the regulations in Decree 55/2015/ND-CP and Decree No. 116/2018/ND-CP to better suit practical needs and new development orientations of this sector.
Currently, there are four priority policies for borrowers in the agricultural and rural sectors. Notably, these include regulations allowing unsecured loans with limits ranging from 300 million VND to 5 billion VND; a mechanism permitting the use of assets formed from borrowed capital; a policy for handling specific risks in cases of natural disasters and epidemics; and Decree 98/2018/ND-CP on encouraging cooperation and linkages in the production and consumption of agricultural products.
These adjustments have created a more favorable legal framework for agricultural credit, helping people and businesses access capital more easily in the context of agricultural production being increasingly affected by climate change and market fluctuations.
Outstanding credit in the agricultural and rural sector nationwide accounts for 22.76% of the total outstanding credit in the economy . Photo: Duy Minh
By the end of August 2025, outstanding credit in the agricultural and rural sector nationwide reached approximately VND 3.98 million billion, an increase of 8.46% compared to the end of 2024 and accounting for 22.76% of the total outstanding credit in the economy. Approximately 14.56 million customers still have outstanding loans in this sector, with credit mainly concentrated in individuals and households, accounting for about 68%; followed by businesses at 31.5%.
Simultaneously, a credit program for the agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sectors was launched in 2023 with lending interest rates in Vietnamese Dong at least 1% to 2% lower per year than the average lending interest rate for the same term offered by the lending bank. From an initial scale of 15,000 billion VND, the program has been continuously expanded in the 2024-2025 period to 30,000 billion VND, 60,000 billion VND, 100,000 billion VND, and currently stands at 185,000 billion VND, while also expanding its scope to include the Agricultural, Forestry, and Fisheries Products Program.
"The conduit" for sustainable poverty reduction.
Besides commercial credit channels, policy credit continues to play a pivotal role in supporting poor households and vulnerable groups in rural areas. Currently, the Social Policy Bank is implementing 23 preferential policy credit programs, with a large proportion of the capital focused on investing in agriculture, farmers, and rural areas.
By September 30, 2025, the total outstanding balance of policy credit reached VND 398,065 billion, an increase of VND 30,434 billion, equivalent to an 8.3% increase compared to 2024. Nearly 6.731 million poor households and policy beneficiaries still have outstanding loans, demonstrating the strong coverage and widespread impact of this preferential capital flow.
The Social Policy Bank is currently implementing 23 preferential policy credit programs. Photo: Tuan Anh
In addition, outstanding loans for high-tech agriculture have reached over 29,000 billion VND. The mechanisms regarding loan limits, loan terms, and preferential interest rates have been assessed as fundamentally appropriate, contributing to directing credit capital to the right targets and sectors, supporting the agricultural restructuring process towards increasing added value and sustainable development.
The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development ( Agribank ) has been and continues to play a leading role in providing capital for the "three rural sectors" (agriculture, farmers, and rural areas). By the end of November 2025, Agribank's outstanding loan balance reached over 1.95 trillion VND, an increase of over 13% compared to the end of 2024, with nearly 65% of the credit structure concentrated in agriculture, farmers, and rural areas.
According to Agribank General Director Pham Toan Vuong, the bank is currently effectively implementing 7 policy credit programs and 3 national target programs on building new rural areas, sustainable poverty reduction, and socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions. Regarding the new rural development program, since the end of 2011, Agribank has covered 100% of communes nationwide with its credit network. By June 2025, the total loan volume of the program is expected to reach over 7.6 trillion VND, serving more than 2 million customers in rural areas.
Notably, Agribank has allocated 50,000 billion VND for loans to high-tech and clean agriculture, thereby contributing to the development of many OCOP products that meet international standards. The bank has also been identified as a key unit in implementing the sustainable development project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta, and played an important role in Vietnam's first carbon credit sale transaction worth nearly 51.5 million USD.
These figures show that the 23 policy credit programs, along with priority capital flows from the banking system, are not merely providing financial support, but are becoming important levers helping rural Vietnam consolidate livelihoods, reduce poverty sustainably, and gradually realize sustainable development goals.
Source: https://congthuong.vn/23-mach-von-uu-dai-don-bay-giam-ngheo-ben-vung-o-nong-thon-434747.html
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