Red White Village Cooperatives Poised to Become New Economic Power for Communities

Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono explained that the Red White Village Cooperatives (Kopdes Merah Putih) are poised to become a new economic powerhouse for society. As long as there is a spirit of perseverance, the cooperatives can grow strong. “The most important thing is the spirit. If the spirit is strong, this cooperative can grow into a new economic force for society,” said Ferry during his inspection of the Red White Village/Urban Village Cooperative (KKMP) in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), quoted from Antara on Saturday (25/4/2026). Consequently, the local economy will circulate and eventually become significant. “The Red White Village/Urban Village Cooperative in NTT will become a new economic ecosystem for NTT,” he clarified. The presence of Kopdes Merah Putih can serve as a means to achieve this. “We can no longer go it alone. There must be collaboration, from production, downstream processing, distribution, to marketing and even industry,” he stated. “This Red White Village/Urban Village Cooperative will also be equipped with medicine outlets and health clinics in the villages so that villagers can obtain health service guarantees,” explained Ferry on Thursday (23/4/2026). “So, we hope that the Ministry of Cooperatives, together with the Ministry of Health and BPJS Kesehatan, will sign a joint ministerial decree,” he added. In addition to clinics, medicine outlets, and cold storage, the Kopdes will feature staple goods outlets, cooperative offices, savings and loan units, logistics outlets, as well as one outlet tailored to the specific needs of the area.