Jakarta – The government continues to strengthen the village economic ecosystem by developing the Red and White Village Cooperative (KDMP) as a distribution hub connecting producers, distributors, and village communities. This cooperative is projected to become a new foundation for building a more efficient, modern, and partnership-based village supply chain.
Trade Minister Budi Santoso emphasized that the establishment of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative was not intended to compete with modern retailers or grocery stores already present in the community. Rather, the cooperative was designed as a collaborative platform to strengthen the distribution of goods down to the village level.
According to the Minister of Trade, the KDMP concept actually opens up opportunities for synergy between village cooperatives and modern retail networks, distributors, and other business actors. This partnership model allows the distribution chain of goods needed by the community to operate more effectively and reach rural areas more evenly.
“This is actually a good opportunity to collaborate with minimarkets and distributors to distribute their products through village cooperatives,” said Budi Santoso.
He explained that this type of collaboration model is nothing new in the national trade ecosystem. Many grocery stores also source their goods from modern retail chains and large distributors. With a similar approach, KDMP can function as a distribution hub, strengthening trade networks down to the village level.
Through this scheme, village cooperatives can act as a bridge between producers, distributors, and consumers in rural areas. This is expected to shorten distribution channels and reduce logistics costs, which have been a challenge in distributing basic necessities in the regions.
Furthermore, the existence of KDMP also has the potential to expand the range of economic services in villages. Beyond providing daily necessities such as staple foods, village cooperatives can also provide agricultural products like fertilizers and plant medicines, as well as various other productive needs for village communities.
As it develops, KDMP can even function like a village minimarket with a wider variety of products, while also becoming a center of community economic activity. With the support of a more modern distribution management system, KDMP is expected to improve supply chain efficiency and strengthen village economic competitiveness.
Furthermore, the Minister of Trade assessed that the establishment of the Merah Putih Village Cooperative is part of the government’s strategy to empower the local economy while simultaneously improving access to goods for rural communities. With closer and more integrated distribution, it is hoped that communities will be able to obtain essential goods at more stable and affordable prices.
“This village cooperative belongs to the village. Whatever it produces goes back into the village community’s prosperity,” said Budi Santoso.
The government is optimistic that strengthening village cooperatives through a modern partnership model will create a more inclusive trade ecosystem. By establishing cooperatives as distribution hubs, large businesses, modern retailers, and even MSMEs can collaborate in a mutually beneficial supply chain.
Through this step, the Merah Putih Village Cooperative is expected to not only become a distribution center for goods, but also a driving force for the village economy, capable of strengthening community independence while opening up new business opportunities at the local level.
