April 8, 2026

German-ASEAN through GIZ celebrate partnership to establish climate risk finance pathways for regional stakeholders, agricultural communities

Activities, Climate Risk Financing, News and Events

Hanoi, 8 April 2026 – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH marked the clse of the “Innovative Climate Risk Financing for the Agricultural Sector in the ASEAN Region Project” or Agri-Climate Risk Financing – a successful three-and-a-half year partnership to develop innovative, gender-responsive financial products that help smallholder farmers prepare for, respond to, and recover from the impacts of climate change.

More than 60 representatives from governments, financial institutions, the private sector, and development organisations across ASEAN attended the closing event in Hanoi, Vietnam. Participants included high-level executives from the ASEAN Secretariat and the project’s three pilot countries: Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Department of Cooperative Economy and Rural Development (DCRD) and Tinh Thuong Microfinance Institute (TYM), Indonesia’s Blue Marble crop insurance company, and Thailand’s Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

Mr Vo Van Hung, Vice Minister of Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, presided at the event to give an opening remarks: “Agriculture plays a vital role in our socio-economic development, rural livelihoods, and national food security. The Agri-Climate Risk Financing Project supports Viet Nam and ASEAN member countries in piloting innovative approaches, including digital credit assessment tools, building capacity on financial and insurance literacy training among farmers, and strengthening cooperation between financial institutions, insurance, and agricultural stakeholders. These initiatives help improve farmers’ access to climate-responsive financial services and provide valuable lessons for future policy development.”

Jens Schmid-Kreye, Deputy Head of Cooperation, German Embassy of Vietnam, gave an opening remarks:

“Farmers and rural communities need reliable financial tools that allow them to better manage climate-related risks, recover more quickly after shocks, and invest in more sustainable production systems. Financial instruments such as crop insurance, climate-smart credit solutions, and innovative risk-sharing mechanisms can play an essential role in building this resilience.”

Panel discussions reflected on achievements and lessons learned by partner institutions and farmers, and innovative approaches that could be scaled up across ASEAN. Eight new financial products were developed and piloted during the project, including weather index insurance for cocoa farmers, an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk assessment tool for banks and a green credit assessment app.

In Vietnam, the project team worked with DCRD and TYM to develop a mobile app for credit assessment and expand the reach of credit and insurance. As a result, up to 1,500 rice and coffee smallholders have access to climate risk financing products, green credit, and agricultural insurance.

In Indonesia, over 1,500 cocoa smallholders have purchased the weather index insurance product developed by the project in collaboration with Zurich Syariah Insurance. Insurance payouts enable farmers to reinvest in their farms following drought-related losses.

As many as 17,060 farmers and 158 trainers in Indonesia, Thailand, and Viet Nam were also trained in basic insurance and financial management as part of a capacity building effort.

Mr. Julian Tost, Project Director, GIZ Thailand, highlighted the achievements of the strategic collaboration: “The Agri-Climate Risk Financing project provides a vital platform for all related stakeholders to actively enhance their capacities and explore innovative solutions to emerging agricultural challenges. Our key achievements and lessons learned have proven that these regional initiatives benefit not only in three pilot countries but all ASEAN Member States gaining valuable insights through regional dialogues and knowledge exchanges which can be adapted to different national contexts.”

Speaking during a panel discussion of the topic: “Looking Ahead: Way Forward and Scaling Up Climate Risk Financing Initiatives in the ASEAN Post-2025”, Mr Thavisith Bounyasouk, Director of Planning and Cooperation Division, Department of Agriculture, Lao PDR, said that capacity building was crucial for such a non-pilot country like Lao PDR. Similar experience sharing workshop on climate risk finance should be implemented at the national level. He also saw the need for establishing a national taskforce that bring together multiple stakeholders and expertise to fill the gap and address the impact of climate change while making crop insurance available for Lao agricultural smallholders.

Dr. Pham Quang Minh, Head of Food, Agriculture and Forestry Division (FAFD), ASEAN Secretariat,

charted a path to scale up climate risk financing initiatives across ASEAN: “Lessons learned from the project have contributed to the implementation of ASEAN policy, including the ASEAN Declaration on the Vision for Food, Agriculture, and Forestry Towards 2045 and the ASEAN Food, Agriculture, and Forestry Sectoral Plan 2026–2030. These frameworks aim to build a resilient, innovative, and sustainable agricultural sector. We will continue facilitating regional cooperation on crops under the ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Crops to strengthen technical capacity, exchange knowledge and experiences, and jointly seek short-term and long-term solutions to tackle climate impact on our agricultural sector.” ■