Denpasar (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Cooperatives is accelerating the development of Kopdes Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperatives) with a focus on financing schemes and strengthening village economic independence.

Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives Ahmad Zabadi said the regional coordination meeting held at the Financial Services Authority (OJK) office in Bali on Tuesday was a momentum to speed up the socialization of financing access and business proposal training for Kopdes task forces in provinces and districts.

“President Prabowo Subianto has directed that financing should not only be for working capital, such as purchasing community products from state-owned enterprises, but also for infrastructure like warehouses and storage facilities. More than 80 percent of Kopdes Merah Putih do not yet have physical assets, which has become an obstacle in distributing basic needs,” Zabadi said.

He added that financing acceleration is part of the cooperative movement revolution, positioning village cooperatives as aggregators and consolidators of local economic activities.

“The government targets more than 80,000 Kopdes Merah Putih to be fully operational by the end of this year,” he said.

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Head of Bali’s Cooperative and SME Office, Tri Arya Dhyana Kubontubuh, said 716 Kopdes Merah Putih in the province have already obtained legal entity status.

However, development has faced challenges, including limited capital, low competence of management and supervisors, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of special facilitators.

To address these issues, the Provincial and District task forces have organized training programs for cooperative managers and supervisors.

“About 75 percent of Kopdes Merah Putih in Bali are now registered and active in the Village Cooperative Management Information System (SIMKOPDES),” he noted.

Support also came from Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR). Member Nengah Senantara described Kopdes Merah Putih as a “miracle baby” with strict oversight and capital of up to Rp400 trillion from 18 ministries and agencies.

“I am optimistic this cooperative will become the foundation for village economic independence,” Nengah said.

Bali served as the first host of the regional coordination meeting, which also involved representatives from West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Yogyakarta, and West Papua.

The next meetings will be held in Batam, followed by Makassar, Banten, Pontianak, and Ternate.

President Prabowo Subianto launched 80,081 Kopdes Merah Putih across Indonesia on Monday, July 27, 2025. This major initiative marks a significant milestone in strengthening national food sovereignty and empowering local economies at the village level.

Kopdes Merah Putih is expected to serve as an instrument to cut supply chain practices that often disadvantage farmers, such as dependence on middlemen, exploitative lending, and unfair distribution of agricultural products. The program aims to return economic control to the people.

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