The study, released by the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD) in collaboration with Oxfam in Viet Nam and Fair Finance Asia, forms part of the AGREEN project, which seeks to boost green investment and credit for agricultural businesses.
As ESG standards increasingly shift from voluntary commitments to competitive requirements, the report highlights major barriers preventing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives from accessing sustainable finance. It draws on a survey of 97 businesses and cooperatives, alongside 15 in-depth interviews with experts and stakeholders.
Speaking at the launch, MSD Director Nguyen Phuong Linh said most agricultural firms had adopted ESG practices to some degree, but implementation capacity and the ability to translate these into tangible outcomes remain limited. She stressed the need for a coordinated ecosystem approach linking policy, finance, markets and capacity-building.
Findings show ESG adoption is uneven, with environmental and social aspects more widely practised than governance. In many cases, ESG efforts remain reactive to market or regulatory pressures rather than embedded in long-term business strategies.
Access to green finance remains particularly constrained. Although 54% of surveyed entities reported holding at least one sustainable agriculture certification, only one had successfully secured green financing. Most rely on traditional bank loans (57%) or informal borrowing from relatives (55%).
Barriers stem largely from conventional lending requirements, such as collateral demands and limited business planning capacity, while around 80% of respondents had never received information on green credit.
The report warns that green finance flows are still concentrated among large enterprises, leaving smaller actors—who dominate agricultural production—largely excluded. It calls for redesigned financial instruments and stronger intermediary support to bridge this gap.
Demand for sustainable finance is expected to rise over the next one to three years, particularly in areas such as sustainable farming and circular agriculture, underscoring the urgency of reforming credit access.
