Value chain cash flow promotes sustainable rice production linkage

Credit paving the way for linkages

An Giang is the country’s leading locality in rice production, with a cultivated area of over 1.3 million hectares and an output of around 8.8 million tons in 2025. Across vast fields stretching from upstream areas to coastal zones, rice is not only the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of households but also a key pillar of the local agricultural economy.

In recent years, An Giang’s rice sector has entered a phase of strong transformation. Moving away from quantity-driven production, the province is gradually shifting toward improving quality, building brands, reducing emissions, and integrating more deeply into global value chains. To follow this path, a major requirement is the establishment of close linkages among farmers, cooperatives, enterprises, scientists, government authorities, and banks.

Within this network of linkages, bank credit acts like the bloodstream that keeps capital flowing. When funding is provided in a timely manner and directed to the right beneficiaries, farmers can invest in high-quality seeds, mechanization, and new technologies. Cooperatives gain the resources to organize raw material zones, while enterprises can take the initiative in procurement, processing, and export. As a result, the entire value chain operates in a more synchronized manner.

According to Deputy Director of Agribank’s An Giang Branch Nguyen Van Hoang, Agribank currently maintains an extensive network across the province, with four Grade I branches, playing a leading role in financing agriculture and rural development. Rice has consistently been identified as the top priority sector in the bank’s credit strategy.

As of the end of March 2026, Agribank’s total outstanding loans in An Giang exceeded VND 62,248 billion. Of this, loans for agriculture and rural development reached VND 40,646 billion, accounting for 65.3% of the total. Lending for rice cultivation alone amounted to VND 13,733 billion, with more than 26,000 borrowers. These figures highlight the strong flow of bank capital into the agricultural production sector.

Notably, under the one-million-hectare high-quality, low-emission rice development program linked to green growth in the Mekong Delta, Agribank has disbursed nearly VND 119 billion, with outstanding loans of nearly VND 99 billion for 88 participating clients. This provides practical support for farmers to confidently invest in machinery, certified seeds, and advanced farming practices.

In the past, many rice-growing households had to rely on their own limited resources, operating on a small scale and often facing the risk of bumper crops but falling prices. Now, with banks deeply involved in value chain linkages, the approach has changed significantly. Farmers are no longer alone in the fields; they have financial backing that allows them to produce with greater confidence.

Unlocking green credit flows

As noted by Nguyen Van Hoang, a key new initiative implemented by Agribank An Giang is the “value chain cash flow” lending model. This modern approach moves beyond relying primarily on collateral such as land, instead basing lending decisions on contractual linkages among enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers.

Under this model, lead enterprises are granted credit limits and then coordinate with cooperatives to supply inputs to their members. At harvest time, enterprises purchase rice according to signed contracts, and proceeds from sales are transferred to accounts at Agribank, where loan repayments are automatically settled.

This approach delivers three major benefits. First, farmers gain easier access to credit and no longer worry about lacking capital at the start of the crop season. Second, banks are better able to control cash flows, thereby reducing credit risks. Third, enterprises secure stable raw material areas, ensuring quality and traceability.

At the same time, Agribank has committed to providing preferential credit packages for individuals and cooperatives participating in the one-million-hectare high-quality rice program, with interest rates 1-2% per year lower than usual. Priority funding is directed toward key inputs such as high-quality seeds, organic fertilizers, mechanized equipment, and low-emission production technologies.

The bank has also become more flexible in accepting collateral, including assets formed from loan capital such as combine harvesters, drying facilities, and processing plants. In parallel, it is expanding digital banking services and mobile lending groups at the commune and hamlet levels to help people in remote areas access financial services more quickly.

In today’s rice fields, the crop needs not only fertile soil and favorable weather, but also a steady flow of capital to grow into real value. When credit is closely linked with production partnerships, farmers face fewer concerns about market access, enterprises gain more secure supply sources, and banks have greater room for safe growth.

Value chain financing, therefore, is not merely about loans. It is the key to unlocking a modern, transparent, and sustainable rice production system. As linkages within the value chain are strengthened and completed, An Giang rice will become more competitive and better positioned to reach both domestic and international markets.

*Currency exchange: 1$ = 26,150 VND (source: Vietcombank).