Government Emphasizes Acceleration of Digitalization and Infrastructure for Kopdes Merah Putih
Jakarta — The government has reaffirmed its commitment to accelerating the development of both physical and digital infrastructure for the Merah Putih Village/Subdistrict Cooperatives (Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih) as a strategic step to strengthen the people’s economy down to the most remote villages. The program targets the construction of tens of thousands of cooperative outlets in the near future through cross-ministerial and inter-agency synergy.
Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Ferry Juliantono stated that the government is targeting the accelerated development of 80,000 physical Kopdes Merah Putih outlets across Indonesia. He explained that, to date, the government has mapped more than 44,000 land locations ready for use, with around 13,000 outlets already completed and beginning operations.
According to Ferry, the acceleration is being carried out in line with directives from President Prabowo Subianto and involves various related institutions.
“This acceleration process will be carried out within the next one to two days by involving the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs, the State-Owned Enterprises Regulatory Agency, as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said.
He expressed optimism that by April 2026, the number of completed physical Kopdes Merah Putih outlets could reach 26,000 locations.
In addition to physical development, the Ministry of Cooperatives is also focusing on strengthening governance and accelerating the digital transformation of cooperatives. Ferry emphasized that improving the quality of human resources is a key priority.
“The Ministry of Cooperatives continues to conduct HR training and refine the digitalization of Kopdes Merah Putih,” he said.
Based on data from the Ministry of Cooperatives’ command center, more than 83,000 Kopdes Merah Putih have now obtained legal entity status. These cooperatives are supported by approximately 1.65 million members and 690,000 administrators across various regions. The government is also encouraging cross-ministerial and inter-agency program synergy to support food self-sufficiency, ranging from upstream-to-downstream business development and optimization of Kopdes Hubs to the use of Internet of Things–based technology to ensure more transparent and efficient business management.
Support for the program has also come from Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan. He stressed that he will ensure physical development of Kopdes Merah Putih outlets receives support from PT Agrinas Pangan and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI).
“Kopdes/Kel Merah Putih continues to grow as a driver of the village economy through the management of various business units, particularly in strategic food sectors such as rice,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions Yandri Susanto stated that the use of village funds in 2026 will be directed to support the implementation of Kopdes Merah Putih.
“We have regulated that one of the priority uses of village funds is for the Merah Putih Village Cooperative,” Yandri said, referring to Ministerial Regulation (Permendes) Number 16 of 2025. —
