Minister Of Agriculture Calls The Red And White Kopdes A Solution To Breaking The Food Mafia Chain

JAKARTA Minister of Agriculture (Mentan), Andi Amran Sulaiman emphasized that the establishment of the Red and White Village Cooperative (KDMP) is a strategic step in strengthening a fairer food distribution system and increasing the competitiveness and welfare of farmers at the local level.

He made this statement while accompanying President Prabowo Subianto in the launch of the Red and White Kopdes program in Bentangan Village, Wonosari, Klaten Regency, Central Java, Monday, July 21.

"Cooperation is a concrete solution to cut the lengthy path of food distribution. If the village cooperative is strong, farmers will no longer be flanked by the neck or mafia. This is the momentum of the village's economic revival," Amran said in his statement.

He added that the Ministry of Agriculture is ready to provide full support for village cooperatives as a new national food trading node. The Minister of Agriculture emphasized that with the presence of this cooperative there should no longer be practices that harm farmers and the community, such as mixed fertilizers, rice that do not match the quality, to cooking oil with inappropriate doses.

The village cooperative will become a new node in the national food trade system that is healthier and sided with farmers. This effort also encourages the improvement of the welfare of farmers throughout Indonesia," he said.

The Red and White Kopdes has been inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto. This program targets the establishment of 80,000 village and sub-district cooperatives throughout Indonesia as an instrument for the distribution of basic food for the community.

In his remarks, Prabowo called cooperatives a collective force of small people who have great potential if managed seriously and work together.

The President likens cooperatives to a cap of lidies that will be fragile if they stand alone, but are strong if they are united. The spirit of togetherness is believed to be able to make cooperatives a pillar of national economic power from the village level.

In front of Klaten society, the President also highlighted the rampant practice of cheating in food distribution that harms the people. He gave an example of the manipulation of the quality of rice that even occurs in many countries.

Many are naughty, rice is usually changed to premium rice. But this is happening in many countries, in Malaysia it is also excited. But we have to order this," he said.

The President also praised Minister of Agriculture Amran's steps in dealing with the food mafia while serving in the previous period. Although this effort has been made, he admits that similar practices continue to reappear in various forms, including reducing the contents of packaged cooking oil.

The Red and White Village Cooperative Program is a new hope in building a national food ecosystem that is fair, transparent, and in favor of the small people, with the spirit of mutual cooperation as the foundation.