A representative of the AgriCRF‑VN project hands over the project documentation to the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development. — Photo nongnghiepmoitruong.vn

CẦN THƠ — More than 7,700 farmers across Việt Nam have received training in climate risk financial management under the “Innovative Climate Risk Financing for the Agricultural Sector in Việt Nam” project (AgriCRF-VN), heard a project review conference held in Cần Thơ City on Thursday.

The event was jointly organised by the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

Speaking at the event, Hoàng Mỹ Lan, a representative of GIZ Việt Nam, said the project has significantly exceeded its initial target of training 4,000 farmers, and women accounts for approximately 32 per cent of participants.

In the field of agricultural insurance, AgriCRF-VN successfully piloted four insurance products developed by the Agriculture Bank Insurance Joint - Stock Corporation (ABIC), Military Insurance Corporation (MIC), Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group (MSIG) and Petrovietnam Insurance Joint-Stock Company (PVI) in An Giang, Đồng Tháp and Cần Thơ, covering nearly 1,540ha of rice cultivation.

Notably, 69 farmers received actual insurance payouts following floods and extreme weather events in 2025. Post-pilot surveys showed that 84 per cent of participating farmers intended to continue purchasing agricultural insurance in the future.

The project also promoted green finance through cooperation with the Tình Thương One-member Limited Liability Microfinance Institution (TYM) to design preferential loan packages for farmers adopting sustainable production models, including organic farming, solar energy use and environmentally friendly livestock production.

To date, 882 farming households, all led by women, have accessed green credit, with total disbursements exceeding VNĐ32 billion (US$1.2 million). A digital credit scoring tool integrated into TYM’s application has processed more than 100,000 loan applications and has been expanded to 13 localities nationwide.

Lê Đức Thịnh, Director of the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development, said the project’s most significant achievement lies in changing farmers’ mindset from passive disaster response to proactive climate risk management across the entire agricultural value chain.

Sonja Esche, Team Leader of Agriculture and Climate Unit at GIZ Việt Nam, stressed that enhancing farmers’ resilience to climate-related risks is becoming increasingly urgent. Improved access to climate risk finance products will help them gain greater confidence in investing in sustainable agricultural production.

Funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through GIZ, the AgriCRF-VN project has been implemented during 2024–2026 in Hà Nội, Sơn La, Đồng Tháp, An Giang and Cần Thơ as part of the ASEAN – Germany AgriCRF initiative covering Việt Nam, Indonesia and Thailand. — VNA/VNS