Cooperative Minister says KDKMP is proof of government's commitment to building the people's economy

Nganjuk (ANTARA) - The Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantono, stated that the presence of Village/Urban Cooperatives (KDKMP) is an effort by the government to improve the welfare of the community.

The Minister affirmed that the presence of KDKMP is concrete proof of the government’s commitment to building a cooperative-based people’s economy.

“This (the symbolic inauguration of operations) is the beginning of KDKMP, where the construction of nearly 9,200 units has been completed. However, following the President’s direction, the first phase involves the inauguration of 1,061 units,” he said after the symbolic inauguration of 1,061 KDKMP units in Nglawak Village, Kertosono District, Nganjuk Regency, East Java, on Saturday.

The Minister also affirmed that the KDKMP that has started operating will certainly become a buyer for various products from the village community, ranging from agriculture, plantations, fisheries, handicrafts, culinary products, and so on, which will then be absorbed by the cooperative.

“Please pray for and support us, hopefully, the presence of KDKMP can truly be felt by its members and the community,” he said.

Regarding some of the obstacles in the construction of KDKMP in several areas that have land areas less than the minimum requirement of 1,000 square meters, Minister Ferry stated that they are conducting a study to design/build the shops, warehouses, or other facilities vertically.

“We are considering awarding the work to PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara for locations with land areas less than one thousand square meters, especially for urban areas and villages with limited space,” he said.

“For the subsequent KDKMP, we are very optimistic and confident that with the support of all ministries and state institutions, it will facilitate the realization of what we have planned together,” he said.

The Deputy Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, General Tandyo Budi Revita, added that in general, there were no significant obstacles in the construction of the physical assets of KDKMP in the Java region.

However, in remote villages or urban areas such as in Papua, it requires extra effort due to limited resources and locations that are difficult to access by land transportation.