Coop Minister: PKH Recipients Can Gradually Become Members of KDMP

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono stated that beneficiaries of the Family Hope Programme (PKH) can gradually become members of the Village/Urban Village Cooperatives Merah Putih (KDMP). “There is already cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs to gradually allow current PKH beneficiaries to join as members of the Village/Urban Village Cooperatives Merah Putih,” said Minister Ferry during a meeting with the Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment, Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, at the Ministry of Cooperatives office in Jakarta on Monday. Furthermore, Ferry explained that this aligns with the government’s hope that KDMP will become an important instrument in efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. “This also matches what Coordinating Minister Muhaimin conveyed to us, so that the Village/Urban Village Cooperatives Merah Putih can serve as an instrument to address poverty issues, as the target this year is zero extreme poverty,” he said. In addition, KDMP is expected to facilitate community economic activities in various ways. The Merah Putih village/urban village cooperatives can act as LPG agents, assist in Bulog’s rice distribution through the food supply and price stabilisation programme (SPHP), handle fertiliser, oil, and serve as absorbers of village production outputs (off-takers) such as paddy and maize below the reference selling price (HAP). “The hope is that they can buy goods at the Village Cooperatives (Merah Putih), which are essentially their own,” said Minister Ferry.