Prabowo: Kopdes Merah Putih Intended to Eradicate Loan Sharks

President Prabowo Subianto has stated that the primary intention behind establishing the Village Cooperative (Kopdes) Merah Putih is to eliminate loan sharks, whom he accused of living by sucking the blood of farmers. He made the remarks during a briefing at a plenary cabinet session at the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Monday, 20 July 2026. “For the Kopdes Merah Putih, I want to explain a little that the intention was to eliminate loan sharks. Loan sharks live by sucking the blood of our farmers,” Prabowo said. “With interest of 1 per cent a day, it is impossible for our producer farmers to rise. That is the goal,” he continued. Following the formation of the Kopdes Merah Putih, Prabowo discovered that it could also cut the trade supply chain and save hundreds of trillions of rupiah. He cited the example that previously, farmers had to go through many processes, from middlemen, distributors, sub-distributors, wholesalers, to retail, to sell their agricultural produce. “It turns out, after being researched by the Minister of Agriculture, the profit taken by these middle parties is 30 to 40 per cent,” Prabowo stated. “With the Kopdes Merah Putih, the margin is approximately 5 to 10 per cent. I think the cooperative taking 5 per cent is enough. That means the rest can be enjoyed by farmers and consumers. This is long-term economic security,” he added. Prabowo also announced that 1,000 Kopdes Merah Putih units have begun operating, with a further 30,000 units to be formed in the near future. He acknowledged that the implementation of the programme is not yet perfect and still has many shortcomings. “Of course, having only been operating for 1.5 months, there are many shortcomings. Some do not have proper electricity yet, some do not have good water yet, some do not have internet yet, and so on,” Prabowo concluded.