President Prabowo Subianto chairs a cabinet meeting with several ministers of the Red and White Cabinet at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (05/08). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)
President Prabowo Subianto Thursday (05/08) at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, chaired a limited cabinet meeting focused on accelerating the establishment of Red and White Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (Koperasi Merah Putih) as a strategic initiative to strengthen the rural economy and streamline the distribution of essential goods.
Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, known as Zulhas, said in a press statement following the meeting that the formation of the cooperatives is progressing rapidly, as the follow-up to the issuance of a legal instrument on the Acceleration of the Establishment of the Red and White Cooperatives.
“As of this Thursday (05/08) afternoon, 9,835 Red and White Village/Sub-district Cooperatives have been established across Indonesia, and the number continues to grow daily,” Zulhas told reporters at the Presidential Palace complex.
He explained that the cooperatives are designed to shorten the supply chain between producers and consumers, thus ensuring more efficient distribution of essential goods such as fertilizer, subsidized cooking gas, and government assistance packages.
To implement this initiative, the cooperatives will collaborate with several institutions, including PT Pos Indonesia (a state-owned postal services company), and serve as financial service agents through platforms such as BRI Link and BNI Link.
“In addition to streamlining the supply chain, this initiative aims to eliminate completely the roles of moneylenders, illegal online loan providers, and intermediary traders. With banks like BRI embedded in the system, assistance and goods will be distributed directly to the community.” Zulhas explained.
To ensure proper implementation on the ground, the Government has also formed a Red and White Cooperative Task Force chaired by Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs and comprising representatives from various ministries as well as daily operational staff.
“This initiative has just been reinforced with the formation of the Red and White Cooperative Task Force—known as the Kopdes Task Force, for both rural and urban areas,” he added.
The Government aims to officially launch the operation of Red and White Cooperatives on a national scale by October 28, 2025. To support their operations, an initial business credit ceiling of Rp3 billion has been allocated per cooperative.
“This financing is not a grant; it’s a business credit facility which must be managed professionally. Cooperatives will be mentored, supervised, and guided to ensure professional financial management and long-term sustainability,” he stressed.
Zulhas also underscored that the loan repayments will be deducted from the cooperatives’ profits, channeled through state-owned banks affiliated with the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara).
Through this initiative, the Government expects Red and White Cooperatives to serve as key drivers of the people’s economy and a viable solution to reduce dependency on middlemen, moneylenders, and illegal online lending platforms. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (RIF/TM)
