Leading capital flows to serve rural development
As a state-owned commercial bank playing a key role in the agricultural and rural credit market, the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (Agribank) not only carries out the mission of providing capital to serve the "third agricultural sector", but also pays special attention to the leadership role of the Party organization in the entire system.
In the 2020-2025 term, the Agribank Party Committee clearly identified the orientation for building a truly political party organization, comprehensively leading the implementation of political tasks associated with the characteristics of a state-owned commercial bank operating mainly in the field of "third agricultural sector". This is the foundation for effective implementation of major policies on agricultural credit development, comprehensive finance and social security.
From the Central Party Committee level to each grassroots Party cell, thematic resolutions are all concretized into action programs, associated with professional targets for each year and each locality. The work of Party building is not separated from professional work, but is one step ahead, orienting banking operations closer to reality. Many Party policies such as increasing capital for remote areas, supporting ethnic minorities, developing high-quality rice or promoting green credit... have been specified by the Agribank Party Committee with credit programs specifically designed for each target.
Through the system of grassroots party organizations, the Agribank Party Committee plays a leading role, closely supervising, ensuring the correct implementation of political orientation in credit activities. The allocation of capital, customer access, risk control and support for people are all associated with the political responsibility of each Party Committee at all levels, thereby creating unity between Party leadership and professional governance.
It is the synchronous participation of the party organization system that has contributed to making Agribank the commercial bank with the highest proportion of agricultural and rural lending in the credit system. During the term, many major programs were implemented such as: social policy credit, credit for ethnic minority and mountainous areas, the 1 million hectare high-quality rice program in the Mekong Delta, preferential credit for forestry - seafood or support packages for small and medium-sized enterprises, social housing, young farmers to start a business... all were operated smoothly on the platform of a strong party organization.
Not only stopping at policy management, the party organization in the Agribank system is also a shock force in digital transformation, administrative reform, spreading corporate culture and ensuring social security at the grassroots level. It is from these political centers that the spirit of serving the people, especially in rural areas, is spread uniformly from the central to each credit officer in the locality.
Bringing capital to the right people, the right needs
That spirit is clearly demonstrated at Agribank Nam Thai Nguyen Branch - where the Party organization plays a core role in organizing the implementation of capital flows to serve "third farmers" in the midlands and mountainous areas. This is a locality with strengths in commodity agriculture, development of specialty tea areas, centralized afforestation and livestock farming, requiring flexible capital access, suitable to local characteristics and production practices.
Under the unified direction of the Agribank Party Committee, the Agribank Thai Nguyen Party Committee has closely coordinated with local Party committees and leaders of grassroots Party cells to grasp the production situation and credit demand at the grassroots level, thereby developing a credit plan close to reality. Credit products are flexibly designed, shortening processes, adjusting terms and repayment times according to seasons, helping farmers and agricultural enterprises proactively expand production and improve livelihoods.
Party organizations at affiliated branches play a role in orienting the implementation of the Party's resolutions into practical professional activities. From choosing a priority economic model to designing a credit package suitable for customer groups, Party members and officials all participate directly, accompanying experts to bring banking services close to the people and close to demand.
Many Party cells have proactively organized thematic activities on high-tech agricultural credit, digital transformation in rural banking and financial inclusion. Thereby, the credit staff is updated with new policies, correctly understanding political goals, thereby improving operational implementation efficiency, shortening the gap between banks and people.
According to Comrade Nguyen Huu Vu - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Deputy Director of Agribank Nam Thai Nguyen Branch, to effectively carry out the credit task of serving the "third party farmer", improving the capacity of the Party organization in the entire branch is a decisive factor.
We clearly identify the role of the Party organization as a strategic orientation, a place to gather intelligence and unify action. All credit programs and all innovation initiatives in serving farmers have the participation and leadership of the Party organization, emphasized the Deputy Secretary of the Agribank Party Committee, Nam Thai Nguyen Branch.
Supporting agricultural cooperatives to make big, make models
In Thai Nguyen city - famous for traditional tea specialties, Hao Dat Tea Cooperative is one of the typical collective economic models that has successfully transformed thanks to bold innovation and long-term support of Agribank.
"Before, we did it in the traditional way, so we did it with the full capital. But when science develops, we understand that to do business properly, we must have a stable source of capital" - Ms. Dao Thanh Hao, Director of Hao Dat Tea Cooperative, shared.
In 2016, from a small production facility and initial cooperative, Ms. Hao and her colleagues established the Hao Dat Tea Cooperative in Tan Cuong commune, Thai Nguyen city - a famous tea region in the country. When starting a large business, the first thing she determined was to have a stable capital flow to invest in equipment, factories, raw material areas and high-quality human resources. Fortunately, Agribank has accompanied and supported the cooperative in a timely manner, helping our business activities to gradually stabilize and develop, said Ms. Hao.
With a reasonable credit limit, preferential interest rates and flexible support from Agribank Nam Thai Nguyen Branch, Hao Dat Tea Cooperative has gradually invested in a modern processing factory, a closed production line and built a professional corporate governance system. In addition to producing organic tea, the cooperative implements e-commerce, livestream sales, and applies artificial intelligence to classify products and check the quality of input materials.
Not only changing production thinking, preferential capital from Agribank also helps cooperatives strongly transform from small scale to professional commodity production, and is trusted by farming households. I never thought that I could build a cooperative like today. One morning, hundreds of people go to work for the cooperative. What makes me most proud is that I have created stable jobs, increased product value, improved income and life for people, Ms. Hao shared.
According to Ms. Hao, when not yet supported with loans, cooperatives only dare to do things at a low level according to traditional methods. But when they had access to bank capital with preferential interest rates, everything changed significantly. "We have started upgrading the line, applying modern technology to increase productivity and improve quality. Labor management now also uses facial recognition, instead of the old way of marking with fingers," said Ms. Hao.
"In the past, people were very afraid of borrowing capital, knowing how much they had worked. Now we are much bolder, because there are cooperatives as bridges and banks accompanying us. The cooperative locates from tea plots, manages to each member household using software. The coordination between cooperatives and farmers is now very convenient, helping to create products in a scientific direction, increasing value".
Ms. Hao also said that Currently, Hao Dat Tea Cooperative has about 60 direct employees, production linkages with nearly 300 households, annual revenue reaching over 40 billion VND and owns tea products that meet national 5-star OCOP standards. Among them, many young people with university degrees work in positions such as receptionist, information technology, equipment operator. The working day of workers has now doubled compared to before. Many young people return to their hometown to work for cooperatives and stay with the cooperative for a long time, that is the future of modern agriculture, Ms. Hao is proud.
Regarding future plans, Hao Dat Tea Cooperative is preparing for a new development phase. With the orientation from the Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Secretary, the cooperative is proposing to deploy a concentrated tea growing area of more than 20 hectares in conjunction with the application of technology and development of community tourism. "When the area is expanded, the demand for capital will increase. I really hope Agribank will continue to accompany and support lending to increase credit limits. That is a condition for the cooperative to play a good role in organizing the linkage, helping people develop together," Ms. Hao expressed.
