Technical workshop to support planning for a green bond to mobilize finance for sustainable agriculture in Viet Nam

Hanoi - On 25 March 2025, partners convened in Hanoi to support planning for Viet Nam’s first green bond for climate-resilient, low-emission agriculture, anticipated for issuance later this year. Hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) in collaboration with the Climate Bonds Initiative and the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), the workshop engaged government officials, financial experts and development partners to discuss emerging opportunities and strategies for a green bond to mobilize finance for sustainable agriculture including the One Million Hectares Initiative – the national flagship program to scale up high-quality, low-carbon rice production in the Mekong Delta by 2030.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director General of the MAE International Cooperation Department, emphasized the importance of financial innovation. “Our efforts to transition to sustainable, climate-resilient and low-emission agricultural practices are more important than ever. But achieving this vision will require innovation not only in farming practices but also in mobilizing finance at scale – especially to support our smallholder farmers and agri-SMEs.”

Through the workshop, participants engaged in a series of technical presentations and hands-on exercises that contributed to shaping core components of a green bond framework for sustainable agriculture in Viet Nam. These included identifying use of proceeds to finance smallholder farmers and small-and-medium-sized agricultural enterprises (agri-SMEs), defining eligible investments, discussing the development of Viet Nam’s green taxonomy, and aligning with Viet Nam’s climate change and agricultural policy priorities.

“Unlocking finance for smallholder farmers to adopt new technologies and approaches to deliver low-emission and high-quality rice is a shared priority for FAO and MAE. Collaboration with partners like Agribank and the Climate Bonds Initiative to explore the potential for innovative measures such as food security green bonds in Viet Nam is essential for achieving this aim,” noted Beau Damen, Natural Resources Officer for FAO’s Regional Office of Asia and the Pacific.

International case studies – including sovereign and sustainability bonds issued by Thailand, Indonesia and the African Development Bank for sustainable agriculture – provided real-world examples of how green bonds can be structured to deliver both climate impact and sustainable rural development. Complementing these case studies, key partners from the World Bank Treasury and Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association shared insights from experiences supporting green bond transactions in Viet Nam, the broader Asia-Pacific region and globally. Participants applied these insights in working sessions that modelled how new green bond guidelines and Agriculture Criteria can strengthen bond frameworks, including with specific measures to reduce farm emissions, sequester carbon in agricultural lands, enhance agricultural climate resilience, and support needed capacity strengthening throughout agricultural value chains. Experts from the Climate Bonds Initiative highlighted increasing interest from regional and global investors in bonds utilizing the Agriculture Criteria.

The workshop concluded by identifying technical support priorities for successful issuance and implementation of a green bond for climate-resilient, low-carbon agriculture in Viet Nam. Priorities included:

• identifying feasible technical projects that can be financed by the bond;
• supporting smallholder farmers and agri-SMEs in accessing finance and implementing eligible projects;
• assessing needs for engaging farmer cooperatives and key value chain actors as finance and capacity strengthening intermediaries;
• establishing a strong monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system for the bond;
• enhancing capacities of bank branches and staff working on the ground with farmers, cooperatives and agri-SMEs; and
• engaging additional key partners that can contribute aligned resources and support, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and others.
  

With strong technical input, cross-sectoral collaboration and global best practices brought to the table, the workshop represented a key milestone in Viet Nam’s initiatives to mobilize finance for sustainable agriculture, enhance food security, and contribute to national and global climate change goals.