Cooperative Minister states KDKMP will serve as off-taker for flagship village products
Bandarlampung (ANTARA) - Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono stated that the Red and White Village-Subdistrict Cooperatives (KDKMP) will function as an off-taker for flagship products found in villages.
“These Red and White Village-Subdistrict Cooperatives can also be used to support downstreaming by optimising their function as off-takers for superior village products. The President has conveyed that the function of these cooperatives is not merely to distribute goods, but also to serve as off-takers,” Ferry said in Bandarlampung, Lampung, on Friday.
He noted that by optimising the KDKMP’s function as an off-taker, the cooperatives will play a role in collecting and absorbing all products from village communities and farmers, such as food crops, fisheries, livestock, horticulture, and more.
“We need to and must continue to encourage downstreaming; therefore, when there is a paddy harvest, it can be directed to the KDKMP. Because they will be equipped with dryers, and if there are vegetable or fruit products in the village, tools or machinery will be provided to process them,” he said.
Furthermore, the government will encourage the KDKMP’s off-taker function through the procurement of post-production machinery.
“Currently, there is procurement of tools and machinery, but it is specifically for production, such as tractors and hand tractors; post-production machinery is still lacking. Additionally, no ministry or institution has yet been responsible for this off-taker function to ensure it can be optimised,” he added.
According to him, with this in mind, the Ministry of Cooperatives will take the initiative in the 2027 budget year to allocate funds for the procurement of machinery for post-production activities.
“The Ministry of Cooperatives will encourage and prioritise goods sold in cooperative outlets to be local products from MSMEs in their respective regions. Through the budgeting of machinery for post-production activities, we can also support downstreaming through the role of cooperatives,” he concluded.