Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan, on Monday informed that as many as 70 thousand Red and White village cooperatives will be established and made operational by July 2025.The establishment of the cooperatives is still pending a presidential instruction, and is aimed at accelerating the supply chain from cities to villages, he said."Maybe in June–July, it can be 70 thousand (cooperatives will be established). These cooperatives will cut the supply chain by distributing goods from the cities directly to the villages," Hasan explained here on Monday.
He said that each cooperative will need around Rp3 billion to Rp5 billion for development, which can later be used to provide loans to cooperative members and absorb farmers' harvests, and thereby, spur the economy in rural areas.
However, the government is still discussing the source of the funding, in particular, whether it will be the State Budget or the regional budget. According to Hasan, the presidential instruction on the establishment of the Merah Putih village cooperatives will be completed in a month.
"Hopefully, it will be completed in a month," he said.
Earlier, Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi emphasized the importance of adhering to the principles of transparency, accountability, and professionalism in managing cooperatives established under the Red and White Village Cooperatives program.
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"We must take a prudent approach, and as I have repeatedly said, Red and White Village cooperatives should be run in a transparent, professional, and accountable manner," the minister said at his office in Jakarta on March 24, 2025.
To this end, Setiadi advocated applying good governance based on strong regulations, while ensuring the involvement of locals and the use of digital technology in supervising the operations of the cooperatives.
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"We will also oversee these cooperatives using digital systems, which will allow us to detect fraud," he added.
