Minister Clarifies Relationship Between 'Red and White' Village Cooperatives and Existing Village-Owned Enterprises

Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration, Yandri Susanto, has assured that the existence of the Koperasi Desa Merah Putih (Red and White Village Cooperatives) will not undermine village-owned enterprises (BUMDes). He stated that the cooperatives would instead be encouraged to collaborate with BUMDes. Village-owned enterprises have distinctive business units, for example, managing tourism villages and export villages. Meanwhile, the Koperasi Desa Merah Putih will focus on distributing subsidised products. Regarding the form of cooperation, Yandri cited the example of the Red and White Cooperatives collaborating with a tourism village managed by a BUMDes to prepare their needs. “It does not overlap with the Koperasi Desa Merah Putih, just cooperation,” he said at Graha Mandiri, Jakarta, Monday, 20 July 2026. He also assured that the Red and White Cooperatives would not eliminate surrounding grocery stalls. “It will be regulated in such a way so that everything remains alive and strong,” said Yandri. Yandri said his ministry would draft regulations on the operation of village cooperatives, targeted for completion in August. He said the regulation would relate to determining the selling price of products in the cooperatives. Echoing Yandri, Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan stated that the main function of the Koperasi Desa Merah Putih is as a distributor of subsidised goods or farmers’ produce. Zulhas, as he is known, said the village cooperatives are government infrastructure to channel government aid and subsidised products. With these characteristics, Zulhas said the village cooperatives will gradually act as an offtaker for agricultural products, for example, buying farmers’ unhusked rice for IDR 6,500 per kilogram. The PAN politician said the government is currently finalising a presidential regulation related to the operationalisation of the Red and White Cooperatives. Zulhas said this rule will serve as the basis for operations, including distributing government aid, subsidised products, and conducting market operations. “This is gradual because it cannot be done all at once,” he said. Zulhas said the government is targeting the construction of 35,872 village cooperative outlets to be completed by August this year. Meanwhile, the government will continue construction next year. According to the Village Cooperative Management Information System website managed by the Ministry of Cooperatives, 16,944 cooperative outlets have been completed as of Tuesday, 20 July 2026. A total of 38,053 plots of land have been proposed as locations for the cooperatives. Of that total, 2,190 locations have not been verified, while 35,863 locations have been verified. Of the verified land, 18,447 locations are currently under construction, while 472 points have not yet entered the construction phase.