JAKARTA – The Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, announced that the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperative (KDKMP) will serve as the government's official infrastructure for distributing all subsidized aid.

Coordinating Minister Zulhas stated that this directive was decided during a Limited Cabinet Meeting (Ratas) presided over directly by President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday (July 15, 2026).

"Last night, we held a Ratas led directly by the President. Any misunderstandings regarding the village cooperatives will be resolved. What is the village cooperative? It is the government's infrastructure. For what purpose? Moving forward, all village cooperatives will act as a single, centralized office to channel all government assistance," Minister Zulhas explained during the KDKMP National Seminar at the Sasana Kriya Building, TMII, East Jakarta, on Thursday (July 16, 2026).

Minister Zulhas elaborated that the KDKMP will distribute all forms of government assistance, ranging from social aid (bansos) to agricultural machinery (alsintan).

Furthermore, Minister Zulhas assured that the KDKMP will also act as an off-taker (guaranteed buyer) for the produce of local farmers and fishermen. This measure is aimed at maintaining price stability to ensure farmers do not suffer financial losses during peak harvest seasons.

Speaking at the same event, the Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Mendes PDT), Yandri Susanto, guaranteed that the KDKMP will not marginalize local MSMEs and small village kiosks (warung). Instead, he emphasized that the KDKMP will forge strong collaborations with these local businesses.

"With the establishment of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative, and alongside our existing Village-Owned Enterprises (BUM Desa), MSMEs, and small traditional kiosks, the Ministry of Villages will build an extraordinary collaborative network. There will be no mutual exclusion or undermining of one another," Minister Yandri stated.

The Ministry of Villages and PDT, in partnership with 10 Village Associations, organized the National Seminar to serve as a public forum to hear progress reports regarding KDKMP operations.

"This is the first public forum on the KDKMP. Up until now, we have mostly heard statements from competent officials—from the Ministry of Cooperatives, ourselves, the Coordinating Minister for Food, and the President. However, this is the first time we are facilitating a two-way discussion involving various stakeholders. Thus, we organized this National Seminar, inviting nearly every sector in this republic," Minister Yandri said.

Minister Yandri added that the event serves as a platform to refine KDKMP operations, hoping it would yield valuable public feedback.

"We want this forum to be a space for dialogue on this strategic program of the President. The Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperative will move toward operational perfection. For this, we need public input and recommendations, while we also aim to deliver comprehensive information to the seminar participants," Minister Yandri stated.

During the event, the Chairman of APDESI Merah Putih, Asep Anwar Sadat, representing the General Chairpersons of the 10 Village Associations, read out the seminar's official recommendations for the KDKMP:

1. Fully support the accelerated formation, institutional strengthening, and development of the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperative as a core part of the village-based national development strategy.

2. Commit to establishing the KDKMP as the center of village economic activity managed professionally, transparently, accountably, and oriented toward the welfare of members and the general public.

3. Encourage all village governments to play an active role in strengthening the KDKMP ecosystem through synergy with BUM Desa, MSMEs, farming groups, fishermen, livestock breeders, creative economy actors, and all village economic potentials.

4. Support the development of productive business units within the KDKMP tailored to local potential, including the food, agriculture, livestock, fisheries, trade, logistics, renewable energy, financial services, and digital sectors.

5. Urge capacity-building for cooperative administrators, supervisors, and members through education, training, mentoring, and digital transformation.

6. Invite the business sector, State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Region-Owned Enterprises (BUMD), financial institutions, universities, and all stakeholders to build mutually beneficial partnerships for KDKMP development.

7. Encourage the central and regional governments to provide regulatory support, financing, incentives, easy access to capital, digitalization, and sustainable mentoring.

8. Reject any form of cooperative misuse for personal or group interests, as well as any practices that violate cooperative principles, good governance, and prevailing laws and regulations.

9. Commit to joint supervision to ensure that KDKMP management remains professional, transparent, and high-integrity, delivering concrete benefits to rural communities.

10. Stand ready to synergize in dissemination, mentoring, monitoring, evaluation, and the exchange of best practices among villages.

The seminar was also attended by the Minister of Cooperatives (Menkop) Ferry Juliantono, the Head of the Development Control and Special Investigation Agency (Bapisus) Aris Marsudiyanto, Deputy Minister of Villages and PDT Ahmad Riza Patria, President Director of PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara Joao Angelo De Sousa Mota, and Deputy Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) General Tandyo Budi Revita.

Text: Firman/Kemendes PDT