IPDN Professor: Indian Pickup Truck Imports Constitute Premature Policy
A professor of government studies from Indonesia’s Domestic Government Institute (IPDN), Djohermansyah Djohan, has criticised the policy of importing pickup trucks to support the Red and White Village Cooperative (Kopdes Merah Putih) project by PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara.
Djohermansyah characterised the policy as reflecting premature planning. Since the growth of Kopdes Merah Putih has not yet been demonstrated, supporting facilities should not be procured first. “The cooperative should develop first, only then should vehicle needs follow,” Djohermansyah stated in a written statement on Friday, 27 February 2026.
He explained that in cooperative business logic, asset growth typically occurs in stages, beginning from small scale and expanding according to business capacity. According to him, large-scale procurement at the outset risks becoming a burden, particularly if the cooperative has not yet generated significant fiscal value. “The question also arises: why is vehicle procurement conducted from abroad when there is a need to strengthen the domestic automotive industry?” Djohermansyah said.
The news of pickup truck imports by Agrinas was announced by Indian automotive manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) on 4 February 2026. M&M announced plans to supply 35,000 Scorpio pickup units. Six days later, Tata Motors Limited announced plans to export 70,000 pickup units to Indonesia.
At a press conference on 24 February, the Chief Executive of PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, Joao Angelo De Sousa Mota, stated that the 4x4 pickup trucks are intended for 70,000 Red and White Village Cooperatives, particularly for transporting agricultural products to market.
Initially, he claimed to have questioned why the Red and White Village Cooperatives should own vehicles. “However, after I attempted to understand, it transpired that the President’s wish was to connect farmers directly with consumers so that fair prices could be achieved,” Joao said.
He explained that the price of 4x4 pickup trucks domestically is quite expensive, with prices on the e-catalogue reaching up to IDR 528 million per unit. Even with 4x2 specifications, prices remain high and do not align with the limited incomes of farmers.
With this consideration, he stated, Agrinas decided to import pickup trucks from India. Another factor, Joao said, was that the imported vehicles have greater load capacity, reaching 1.2 tonnes.
However, Agrinas’s working partner, Commission VI of the House of Representatives, has criticised this policy of importing pickup trucks from India. The reason given is that the policy was adopted without coordination with Parliament.
“Agrinas never specified the type and qualifications of the Red and White Village Cooperative vehicles,” said Herman Khaeron, a member of Commission VI of the House of Representatives, at the House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council, and People’s Consultative Assembly complex on Thursday, 26 February 2026.