Speaking in a press conference after a meeting with President Prabowo Subianto, the minister emphasized that each village cooperative's design would be tailored to suit its host village's unique strengths and needs.
"It should be noted that each village has different conditions and strengths. For instance, there are agricultural villages, fishing villages, and urbanized villages," he remarked at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday.
Elaborating on urbanized villages, Setiadi observed that these rural areas have embraced urban-like characteristics to some degree.
He noted that 85 percent of Indonesian villages depend on agricultural activities, while the remainder tend to utilize their marine resources.
The minister also estimated that developing one Red and White Village Cooperative would cost Rp5 billion (approximately USD306 thousand).
"A budget worth Rp5 billion is needed to build a warehouse, a cold storage, and an outlet, as well as to procure a minimum of two trucks," he revealed while emphasizing that the trucks are necessary to transport goods to and from the village.
He further remarked that the Ministry of Cooperatives would discuss and determine the specifics related to the village cooperatives plan with other institutions, including the Home Affairs Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, and the Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions.
Earlier in the morning, President Prabowo summoned Minister Setiadi and Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian to his palace to follow up on the plan to establish Red and White Village Cooperatives.
Later in the afternoon, the head of state discussed Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Danantara, with Investment and Downstreaming Minister Rosan Roeslani and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.
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Translator: Genta T/Mentari D, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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