Merah Putih Cooperatives Seen as a Solution to Farmers' Problems
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — President Prabowo Subianto believes that the Village/Urban Merah Putih Cooperatives (KDKMP) are capable of overcoming various problems that farmers have long faced, ranging from fertiliser and capital to the distribution of harvests to market.
“Farmers’ problems have been the same for a long time: fertiliser, capital, and difficulty in getting their harvests to market. Many harvests are damaged and rot,” said Prabowo during the inauguration of the operational launch of 1,061 KDKMPs in Nganjuk, East Java, as monitored via the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel, Saturday (16/5/2026).
Prabowo said that many farmers have long struggled to sell their harvests because access to markets is limited, especially in remote areas that are difficult for buyers to reach.
According to him, the presence of KDKMPs will help farmers because the cooperatives will have their own fleet of trucks and pick-up vehicles to transport harvests to the markets desired by farmers.
“Now the cooperatives have their own trucks, their own pick-ups. So they will no longer be dependent. Harvests can be delivered to the places and markets that farmers want,” he said.
Prabowo explained that the cooperatives will also carry out various other activities, such as selling basic necessities and subsidised goods, distributing subsidised gas and fertiliser, providing low-interest credit, providing logistics services in collaboration with Pos Indonesia, distributing government assistance, and absorbing farmers’ rice yields.
In addition, the government will also provide affordable pharmacies through the cooperatives so that people can obtain medicines at affordable prices throughout Indonesia.
On that occasion, Prabowo said that the government is targeting the inauguration of 30,000 cooperatives in August.
However, according to him, if the number of cooperatives successfully inaugurated only reaches 20,000 units, this achievement will still be a major achievement that is rarely found in other countries in one year.
“Please do some research, which country has built and inaugurated 20,000 cooperatives in one year. I think it is rare,” he said.
Prabowo believes that this target shows that the government and various state institutions are able to work to their maximum potential if they have the will, strategy, determination, and cooperation.
Prabowo also invited the public to eliminate the mentality of a weak and losing nation and affirmed that Indonesia must become a winning nation.
“We must eliminate the mentality that we are a weak and losing nation. No! We must not be a losing nation. We must be a winning nation and we will win,” said Prabowo.