Stabilise Supply, Zulhas Urges Red and White Village Cooperatives to Actively Absorb Agricultural Produce
Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) has called on Koperasi Desa (Village Cooperative) Merah Putih to actively absorb agricultural produce when prices decline, in order to protect resident incomes and maintain food supply stability.
“The Merah Putih Village Cooperative must become a distribution centre. If rice is not absorbed, the cooperative must purchase it. If fish or eggs are unsold, the cooperative must take them,” Zulhas stated in a statement on Friday, 27 February 2026.
He conducted a direct inspection of Kopdes Merah Putih Endang Rejo in Lampung Tengah Regency on Thursday, 26 February 2026. During his visit, he emphasised that village cooperatives should not merely sell basic commodities, but must also act as intermediaries connecting farmer, livestock, and fisher production to broader markets.
“It is here that supplies are distributed, including for the needs of nutritious meal provision under the Free Nutritious Meals programme,” he said.
Kopdes Merah Putih Endang Rejo has 107 members with established management and supervisory structures. The cooperative remains in the consolidation and operational preparation phase, including administrative strengthening and working capital development.
During the visit, Zulhas also expressed appreciation to the Indonesian Military (TNI) for their support in constructing the physical facilities of Kopdes Merah Putih Endang Rejo under a unified command for accelerated rural development.
Zulhas views Kopdes Merah Putih as a stabilisation instrument at the village level when supply surpluses suppress prices at the producer level.
Beyond absorption of agricultural production, Kopdes Merah Putih Endang Rejo is planned to develop services for providing basic necessities, village financial services, agricultural and livestock production inputs, and cold chain storage facilities to reduce post-harvest losses.
He also encouraged cooperative management to be conducted professionally and accountably through management training and the preparation of permanent management personnel. Nationally, the government has targeted the completion of 30,000 Kopdes Merah Putih physical structures by May–June before entering the operational phase.
As of 5 February 2026, approximately 680 structures have been completed, with the majority located in Central Java, East Java, and West Java.