Strengthening Village Downstreaming: Minister of Cooperatives Encourages KDKMP to Become Offtaker for Superior Products
The Ministry of Cooperatives (Kemenkop) is encouraging cooperatives to become a primary instrument in strengthening the downstreaming of community products. Cooperatives, including the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (KDKMP), are being directed to serve as offtakers for superior local products so that added value can be created through the cooperative ecosystem.
The Minister of Cooperatives, Ferry Juliantono, stated that cooperatives need to be equipped with various post-production tools, such as dryers for paddy commodities and cold storage for various agricultural and fishery products. This equipment will serve as an aid for cooperatives to ensure that superior community products can be further processed, thereby increasing their selling value.
Ferry explained that currently, most equipment and supporting machinery available in the market are for pre-production, while post-production tools remain very minimal. Consequently, the opportunity for cooperatives to support the downstreaming activities of superior community products is limited.
“We will encourage the offtaker function to be implemented effectively. Therefore, in 2027, we are taking the initiative to provide tools or machinery for post-production activities,” he said in a written statement on Friday (4/9/2026).
He shared this during the National Seminar for Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (KDKMP) in Lampung on Friday (4/9).
As support for this downstreaming programme, Ferry encouraged that all local community products become the primary choice to be marketed through KDKMP outlets across Indonesia. However, if basic community needs cannot yet be met by local products, opportunities to partner directly with principals or producers remain open.
“We will prioritise goods sold in KDKMP outlets to be the results of MSME products and others,” he said.
To ensure that KDKMP operations run optimally and as expected, Ferry stated that a legal umbrella in the form of a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) will be issued soon. With this regulation, there will no longer be confusion regarding the main tasks and functions (tupoksi) of the KDKMP.
“Once this Presidential Regulation is issued, there will be no more overlap with Ministerial regulations. Everything will be clearly regulated in the Perpres,” Ferry emphasised.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Lampung, Rahmat Mirzani Djausal, explained that superior commodities in Lampung include paddy, cassava, maize, and other commodities. As an effort to optimise these natural resource potentials, he believed the two strategies established by President Prabowo through the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme and KDKMP are appropriate. He noted that through these two programmes, added value and economic circulation within the community will increase and accelerate.
“With the natural resource wealth we possess, our people should be prosperous and affluent. However, because our country’s economic system is less supportive, wealth from villages flows to the cities,” he said.
On the other hand, the Mayor of Bandar Lampung, Eva Dwiana, stated her readiness to collaborate with the central and provincial governments to make cooperatives business entities that strengthen the community economy. Her office is also committed to providing optimal support to cooperatives in Bandar Lampung so they can become highly competitive.
Also in attendance at the event were the Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, the Minister of Villages and Regional Development Yandri Susanto, the Deputy Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Didit Herdiawan Ashaf, the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto, the Governor of Lampung Rahmat Mirzani Djausal, and the Mayor of Bandar Lampung Eva Dwiana.