Speaking here on Tuesday, Patria emphasized that for KMP to effectively boost village prosperity, their management must be profit-oriented.
“A cooperative must generate profit to be sustainable. If it wants to gain profit, income must exceed expenditure,” he remarked.
He delivered these remarks during the launch and monitoring of the establishment of KMP at the village level across Papua Province, held at the Papua Governor’s Office in Jayapura on Monday (June 2).
Patria further highlighted that financially sound cooperatives would encourage more members to save rather than borrow.
He explained that this behavior is crucial for sustaining cooperative growth and its positive impact on the village economy.
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“If the cooperative is profitable, more members will deposit funds than borrow. (However), what we often hear now is more borrowing than saving,” he remarked.
Patria expressed optimism that, with proper and professional management, the village-level Red and White Cooperatives could strengthen rural economies and become a sustainable pillar of development in Indonesian villages.
Earlier, Minister for Villages and Disadvantaged Regions Development Yandri Susanto stated that the establishment of KMP is a solution to promote economic justice in the country's regions such as Papua.
He stated that economic justice can be achieved by simplifying the production and distribution of goods and services.
“Our farmers often suffer losses due to lengthy and complex distribution processes that benefit middlemen. Sometimes, they lose money even after harvesting rice or chili. With the Red and White village-level Cooperatives, this long chain can be shortened,” he explained.
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Translator: Tri, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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