Prabowo: Kopdes Merah Putih Intended to Eradicate Loan Sharks

President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto has said the principal intention behind establishing the Red and White Village Cooperatives, or Kopdes Merah Putih, is to eliminate loan sharks. According to Prabowo, loan sharks live by sucking the blood of farmers.

Prabowo made the remarks whilst delivering an address at the Plenary Cabinet Session at the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Monday, 20 July 2026.

“Regarding the Red and White Village Cooperatives, I would like to explain a little about the intention behind them, namely to eliminate loan sharks. Loan sharks survive by sucking the blood of our farmers,” Prabowo said.

“With interest of 1 per cent per day, it is impossible for our farmer producers to rise. That is the goal,” he continued.

After the Kopdes Merah Putih were established, Prabowo discovered a further benefit: the cooperatives can shorten supply chains and save hundreds of trillions of rupiah.

By way of example, he said that before the Kopdes Merah Putih existed, farmers had to pass through many stages, from middlemen collectors, distributors, sub-distributors, and wholesalers through to retailers, in order to sell their harvest.

“It turns out, after research by the Minister of Agriculture, the profits taken by these intermediary parties amount to 30 to 40 per cent,” Prabowo said.

“With the Red and White Cooperatives, KDMP, the margin is roughly 5 to 10 per cent. I believe a 5 per cent take for the cooperative is sufficient. The remainder can be enjoyed by farmers and consumers. This is long-term economic security,” he continued.

On the same occasion, Prabowo also announced that 1,000 Kopdes Merah Putih have begun operating. He went on to state that 30,000 more will be established in the near future.

Prabowo admitted that the running of the Kopdes Merah Putih is not yet perfect and that many shortcomings remain.

“Naturally, having only operated for a month and a half, there are many deficiencies. Some have poor electricity supplies, some have poor water, some have no internet access yet, and so on,” Prabowo concluded.