APDESI Merah Putih Promotes Villages to Become National Economic and Food Security Locomotives

APDESI Merah Putih Promotes Villages to Become National Economic and Food Security Locomotives

SERANG - Villages must become the center of new economic growth as well as the main pillar of national food security. With more than 75 thousand villages throughout Indonesia, strengthening the economic capacity of villages is considered the key to accelerating equitable development and improving people's welfare.

The message emerged at the National Working Meeting (Rakernas) of the Association of All Indonesian Village Governments (APDESI) Red and White 2026 which took place at the Aston Hotel & Convention Center, Serang City, Banten, Wednesday (10/6). The Rakernas, which carried the theme "Red and White Synergy to Strengthen the Role of Villages in National Strategic Development" was attended by thousands of village heads and Red and White APDESI managers from various regions in Indonesia.

Chairman of the Red and White APDESI, Anwar Sadat, said that villages could no longer be positioned solely as development objects. Instead, villages must be the main subject who is able to move the wheels of the national economy from the bottom, create jobs, improve people's welfare, and strengthen Indonesia's food security.

"Villages have enormous natural resources, human resources, and social capital. If all of these potentials are managed well through collaboration between the government, business world, and society, villages will become the locomotive of national economic growth as well as a stronghold of Indonesia's food security," said Anwar Sadat.

According to him, the strengthening of rural economy needs to be carried out through the development of the agricultural sector, livestock, cooperatives, micro-enterprises, as well as various partnership models that are able to increase the added value and income of rural communities. Therefore, the 2026 Red and White APDESI National Conference specifically discusses various strategic issues, ranging from rural economic development, village investment and partnerships, digital transformation, strengthening of village cooperatives, to national food security.

The 2026 APDESI Red and White National Conference received wide attention from the central government. A number of state officials attended as resource persons and honorary participants, including Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, Minister of Creative Economy Teuku Riefky Harsya, Minister of Villages and Local Development, Yandri Susanto, Head of BNN Komjen Pol. Suyudi Ario Seto, West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi, and Banten Governor Andra Soni. The presence of stakeholders reflects the government's attention to the strategic role of villages in national development.

As an organization that oversees more than 75 thousand village heads throughout Indonesia, APDESI Merah Putih considers that villages have a strategic position in realizing inclusive, equitable, and sustainable national development. Therefore, synergy between the central government, local governments, village governments, the business world, academics, and various other stakeholders is a requirement that cannot be negotiated.