Cooperatives Minister: Red and White Village Cooperatives Will Help Achieve Village Economic Independence

Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono inspected the Merah Putih Village Cooperative in Pucangan Village, Montong District, Tuban, East Java, on Saturday (September 13, 2025). (ANTARA/HO-Kemenkop)

SURABAYA - The Minister of Cooperatives (Menkop) Ferry Juliantono believes the development of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative Cooperative (Kopdes Merah Putih) is increasingly rapid and profitable because the business profits are returned to its members, the majority of whom are villagers.

"This aligns with President Prabowo Subianto's vision, who wants the Merah Putih Village Cooperative to play a significant role in driving economic growth at the village level," he said in Tuban, East Java, as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, September 13.

For example, he said, the Merah Putih Village Cooperative in Pucangan Village, Tuban, has 1,200 members, out of a total of approximately 4,000 productive-age residents.

This figure indicates that approximately 20 percent of the village community is actively involved in cooperatives, and it is hoped that this number will continue to grow as public understanding of the benefits of cooperatives increases.

The Merah Putih Pucangan Village Cooperative is part of an Islamic boarding school-based and village-based economic strengthening initiative with the primary goal of empowering communities through a collective economic system.

The Merah Putih Pucangan Village Cooperative produces coconut milk with assets and revenues reaching hundreds of billions to trillions of rupiah.

The development of the Merah Putih Pucangan Village Cooperative (Kopdes Merah Putih) is inseparable from the guidance of the Sunan Drajat Islamic Boarding School, which has extensive experience and a large cooperative business scale.

"The Islamic boarding school also acts as a mentor and advisor for newly developing village cooperatives, transferring knowledge and experience to strengthen village cooperative management," said Ferry.

He explained that his institution is currently preparing a Business Assistant (BA) program that will guide village cooperative administrators and employees.

This includes support from state-owned enterprises such as BRI, which provides BRI Link facilities as an incentive to attract community members.

In addition, Pertamina, ID Food, and Bank Himbara (State-Owned Enterprises) also provide training on the procedures for disbursing the loan ceiling provided to each Merah Putih Village Cooperative.

According to data from the Merah Putih Village Cooperative supervisor, the cooperative has shown a profit of 50 percent, even though it has not yet received the loan ceiling disbursement from the government.

"This demonstrates the high enthusiasm of the village community for production through cooperatives," he said.

He also hopes that the regional and provincial governments will continue to support the development of the Red and White Village Cooperatives by fostering more than 100 cooperatives that are already operational in East Java.