Coordinating Minister Urges Village Cooperative to Become Community Food Distribution Hub

The Merah Putih Village Cooperative must become an active and productive food distribution hub at the community level. Malang, East Java (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, has encouraged the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (KKMP) to become an active and productive food distribution hub at the community level. “The Merah Putih Village Cooperative must become an active and productive food distribution hub at the community level, so that it can maintain the availability of supplies while also keeping prices affordable,” said Zulkifli Hasan, or Zulhas, in Malang Regency, East Java, on Tuesday. He stated that the government is committed to continuing to accelerate the operationalisation of all village cooperatives. “So that the economic benefits can be felt directly by residents as soon as possible,” he said. The government emphasises the importance of strengthening governance and management capacity so that cooperatives can grow in a healthy, transparent and accountable manner. Furthermore, it encourages synergy to accelerate operations so that it can provide economic benefits to the community as soon as possible. During his visit to Malang Regency, Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, visited the Candirenggo Merah Putih Village Cooperative (KKMP) in Candirenggo Village, Singosari District. According to an official statement from the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs, Zulhas’ visit was also part of implementing a strategy to strengthen the national food distribution system based on community-based economic institutions. The Candirenggo KKMP is being directed to optimise its function as a food distribution centre and a hub for community economic activities by strengthening its core business of retail sales of basic necessities and LPG, utilising distribution warehouses, and developing supporting service facilities. In terms of institutional structure, the Candirenggo KKMP has complete legal documentation and is supported by retail outlets and warehouses. The construction of these two facilities has been completed. In addition, the cooperative’s operational account has been activated, so that, in principle, the institution is ready to carry out its business activities. Regarding the operational schedule, the KKMP is still in the activation phase because some supporting facilities, such as furniture and distribution vehicles, are not yet available. In addition, the handover process of the cooperative’s physical building to the management has not yet taken place. In addition to retail sales of basic necessities, the cooperative will also provide distribution services for three-kilogram LPG cylinders and operate a limited BRI Link service, but this will be optimised once the outlet is fully operational. Copyright © ANTARA 2026 It is strictly prohibited to take content, crawl or automatically index it for AI on this website without written permission from the ANTARA News Agency.