"President Prabowo ensured that the Red and White Village Cooperatives will complement, rather than undermine BUMDes, fostering mutual growth," Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions Yandri Susanto said in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.
This was conveyed during a visit to Kaur District, Bengkulu, on Saturday, to monitor the formation of the village cooperatives in the district.
He also noted that President Prabowo makes villages' progress as one of the things that the government focuses on, in accordance with the sixth mission of Asta Cita.
He underscored the pivotal role of village cooperatives in price regulation for raw materials and essential goods, alongside curtailing the detrimental practices of intermediaries in rural communities.
Villagers also will have an alternative for loans because the cooperatives will offer savings and loan services, among others, thereby diminishing the reliance on predatory lenders.
The minister outlined that there are seven business units that are obliged within the village cooperative ecosystem, namely the cooperative office, staple goods stall, savings and loan business unit, village clinic, village pharmacies, cold storage system, and logistics services.
He invited all village heads in Kaur District to give their support in order to make the Red and White Village Cooperatives program a success.
The Indonesian government seeks to establish as many as 80 thousand Red and White Village Cooperatives across the country.
President Prabowo Prabowo has issued Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2025 on the Acceleration of the Red and White Village Cooperatives’ Formation to expedite the establishment of the cooperatives.
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Translator: Tri Meilani, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
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