Red-White Cooperatives Strengthen Independent Village Economy

MATASEMARANG.COM – Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono emphasized that the Red and White Village Cooperatives build and strengthen independent village economy with the spirit of cooperation.

“The establishment of 80 thousand Red and White Village Cooperatives across villages in Indonesia is an effort to increase village economic participation,” he said on Thursday.

He assessed that the extreme poverty rate in villages remains high due to the lack of employment opportunities and low wage.

This situation is deemed to have caused the flow of productive money in villages to be limited, and has led to the rise of loan sharks, middlemen, and illegal online lending practices.

“The Red and White Village Cooperatives are expected to be able to resolve these various problems by shortening the excessively long distribution chains for products and services, such as the distribution of fertilizers and 3-kg LPG (liquefied petroleum gas),” he remarked.

Furthermore, the deputy minister stated that the legal basis for the village cooperatives is Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution, which affirms that economic sovereignty is in the hands of the people.

He also pointed out data showing that many working-age people are leaving villages, resulting in stagnant village economies.

Therefore, he said, banking regulations have required banks to provide special credit to village residents through the village cooperatives. (Ant)