During the task force's coordination meeting on Friday, the government determined several deadlines that will need to be met until the cooperatives are officially established.
"We have set a target for completing special village deliberations or musdesus in all villages by May 31, 2025," Coordinating Minister for Food and head of the Red and White Kopdes Task Force Zulkifli Hasan informed at a press conference after the meeting.
Meanwhile, the process of legalization and registration of cooperatives with the Ministry of Law is targeted to be completed by June 30 to ensure a strong legal basis for each cooperative.
The formation of the Red and White Village Cooperatives will be officially launched on Indonesian Cooperative Day, which falls on July 12, Hasan said.
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He then explained that there is an urgent need to establish such cooperatives on a large scale, with the involvement of ministries and institutions, to grow the village economy.
"If the village economy is settled, we can absorb more than two million workers, providing hope for village youth so they no longer need to migrate," Hasan said.
In addition, the initiative aims to cut the long supply chain in the distribution of basic necessities. The presence of village cooperatives is expected to cut costs and distribution time from producers to consumers, he added.
The cooperatives could also help eradicate illegal online loan practices and eliminate loan sharks and middlemen in villages.
Another advantage of the Red and White Cooperatives is that they would provide remote villages direct access to economic centers, such as banking, producers, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Hasan said.
To date, 16,700 villages have completed special deliberations to form Red and White Village Cooperative Units.
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Translator: Shofi Ayudiana, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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