Cooperatives Must Connect Farmers to Consumers, Ministry Says

The Ministry of Cooperatives has stated that cooperatives must be able to connect the economic value chain from upstream to downstream, from farmers and fishermen to consumers. Deputy for Talent Development and Cooperative Competitiveness Destry Anna Sari said the future role of cooperatives is no longer limited to being business entities or savings and loan institutions, but as drivers of an integrated economic ecosystem. “Cooperatives become the link between farmers, fishermen, micro, small and medium enterprises, processing industries, financing institutions, markets, and consumers,” Destry said during a webinar organised by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) in Jakarta on Tuesday. According to her, Indonesia possesses significant economic potential from its natural resources, human resources, and economic potential spread across various regions. However, she assessed that this potential has not yet fully yielded optimal added value because of persistent connectivity issues between economic chains. Destry stated that economic development should not only be directed at increasing production but must also ensure that all economic chains are interconnected. She noted that various development programmes have so far been running partially. There are parties building production facilities, warehouses, outlets, and processing facilities, but not all are connected within a single economic ecosystem. “The community does not need standalone programmes. The community needs an ecosystem capable of creating added value from upstream to downstream,” she said. According to Destry, this ecosystem-based approach is one of the development directions for the Village/Sub-district Red and White Cooperatives (KDKMP), which are directed not only as village economic institutions but as nodes connecting various community economic activities. Through KDKMP, the government is encouraging village and sub-district cooperatives to play a role in strengthening supply chains, including becoming offtakers or collectors of community produce, particularly agricultural and fishery commodities. Cooperatives are also expected to help provide financing access for village business actors and open wider market access so that community products do not stop at the production stage but can enter the processing and distribution stages. With this role, cooperatives are expected to reduce classic problems faced by small producers, such as limited capital, buyer certainty, distribution access, and low product added value. Destry added that the government continues to encourage the transformation of cooperatives to become modern, professional, productive, and data-based through strengthening human resources, digitalisation, governance, financing access, and talent development. She emphasised that the future success of cooperatives is not only measured by the number of cooperatives formed but by their ability to connect various economic potentials to increase productivity and community welfare.