Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Mendes PDT) Yandri Susanto has urged village officials across the country to make a united push to ensure the success of government programs.“This unity must be maintained because when the village head succeeds, the village thrives,” Minister Yandri said at the inauguration of the Bogor district chapter of the Indonesian Village Officials Association (PPDI), as per a statement released in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The event was held at the Bogor District Secretariat Auditorium in West Java on Monday.
“And remember, if we succeed in developing villages, we are also succeeding in developing Indonesia, as 71 percent of Indonesia’s population lives in rural areas,” he added.
Minister Yandri highlighted President Prabowo Subianto’s priority programs for rural areas, including the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives (Kopdes), Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes), and the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program.
He expressed confidence that united efforts on the part of village officials will ensure the effective implementation of government programs in rural areas.
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Yandri also advised Bogor District Head Rudy Susmanto to initiate a program to develop “thematic villages,” such as chili villages, tomato villages, or egg-laying chicken villages.
“These thematic villages can later serve as suppliers of raw ingredients for the MBG program,” he said.
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The raw materials, he added, could be further developed by BUMDes, while their production could be absorbed by Merah Putih Village Cooperatives and distributed to support the MBG program.
During the PPDI inauguration event, Minister Yandri was also conferred the title of “Honorary Figure and Friend of PPDI” by Bogor PPDI chair Iwan Bambang Setiawan.
