If all cooperatives are digitized, with more than 25 million members, it will certainly be an extraordinary value
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said that the digitalization of cooperatives is a golden opportunity and crucial in the digital era.



Currently, the digital market in Indonesia has reached US$44 billion and by 2025, it is predicted to reach around US$125 billion, the minister noted.



"If all cooperatives are digitized, with more than 25 million members, it will certainly be an extraordinary value," he said in an official statement released here on Saturday.



Meanwhile, the government is aiming to modernize 500 cooperatives by 2024, he informed. To achieve that target, while also facing the challenges in developing cooperatives, the government has implemented several strategies, including inclusive closed loop-based cooperatives developed as multi-stakeholder cooperatives, focusing on cooperatives in the real sector, financing, amalgamation, and digitalization efforts, he informed.



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The government has encouraged the development of cooperatives by issuing the Job Creation law in 2020, which makes it easier for cooperatives to develop and become competitive, Hartarto said.

The law simplifies the establishment of cooperatives, he added.



In addition, Government Regulation Number 7 of 2021, which enforced the Job Creation Law, also provides more detailed regulations regarding cooperatives' facilitation, protection, and empowerment, Hartarto said.

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The government is also currently pushing for the realization of a farmer and fisherman corporation development program (KPN) for economic transformation, under which one of the institutions that will be developed are cooperatives, he informed.



Hartarto said he hoped that the program could lead to the building of a model for a strong cooperative in the agriculture and marine fisheries sector that can conduct business from upstream to downstream, on-farm and off-farm, and process, package, and market agricultural products.



"It is hoped that it can advance cooperatives, improve farmers' welfare, and add value to the products," he remarked.



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Translator: Agatha Olivia, Raka Adji
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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