Red and White Village Cooperative is a Real Form of Village Economic Transformation

By: Eleine Pramesti *)
Red and White Village Cooperative is rooted in the basic principles of cooperatives that prioritize member participation, collective ownership, and fairness in the distribution of business results. In the rural context, this cooperative is a symbol of the community’s struggle to build economic strength inclusively. By utilizing local potential, this cooperative is able to connect the abundant resources in the village and the needs of the broad market outside the village.
The government believes that the Red and White Cooperative is a catalyst for the village economy. Its business scheme was formed as one of the channels for BUMN goods and services needed by the community. Head of the National Food Agency (NFA), Arief Prasetyo Adi, said that one of the strategies currently being focused on by the government is strengthening village development through the acceleration of independent villages and strengthening the role of the Red and White Village/Sub-district Cooperative.
As is known, the Red and White Village/Sub-district Cooperative was initiated to also open up employment opportunities for the local community. If one cooperative requires 25 personnel, then at least 2 million jobs will be created. The main role of the Red and White Village Cooperative is to create a productive business ecosystem based on local potential and needs. This cooperative does not only function as a savings and loan institution, but also becomes a catalyst for village micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
In this ecosystem, farmers, craftsmen, fishermen, local culinary actors, and service providers get space to grow with capital support, training, and market access. This has a significant ripple effect on reducing unemployment, increasing household income, and the emergence of a strong entrepreneurial spirit at the grassroots level.
The economic transformation of the village initiated by the Red and White Village Cooperative is also marked by an integrated approach that covers upstream to downstream. For example, in the agricultural sector, the cooperative organizes farmer groups to carry out collective cultivation with certain quality standards. After the harvest, the production results are not immediately sold individually, but are managed by the cooperative to be processed, packaged, and marketed professionally. Thus, the added value remains in the village and the profits obtained are shared fairly with the members.
This strategy not only increases farmers’ bargaining power in the market, but also creates an efficient and sustainable supply chain. Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan emphasized that with the spirit of mutual cooperation and collaboration, he is sure that the village economy will continue to advance. In addition, the Red and White Village Cooperative was built to improve the economic ecosystem in the village, so that it can develop rapidly.
This cooperative is also a real example of the practice of Pancasila economics that prioritizes social justice for all Indonesian people. In its operations, this cooperative does not only pursue profit, but balances it with social missions and environmental sustainability. They encourage environmentally friendly business practices, such as organic farming, processing waste into products with economic value, and conserving local natural resources.
Deputy Minister of Cooperatives (Wamenkop), Ferry Juliantono said that the Red and White Village Cooperative program, which is one of the leading initiatives of President Prabowo Subianto’s government, is an economic solution for rural areas without burdening the State Budget (APBN). He explained that this program was designed to build a new economic ecosystem that is mutually beneficial in the village, as well as being an alternative to breaking the community’s dependence on loan sharks and online loans (pinjol) which are detrimental.
In many areas, the presence of the Red and White Village Cooperative has proven to be able to reduce the community’s dependence on middlemen and informal financial institutions that often strangle farmers and small business actors. By providing fair access to capital and low interest rates, cooperatives help communities escape the cycle of structural poverty. In fact, several cooperatives have been able to form new business units such as livestock, fisheries, village tourism, and non-timber forest product processing cooperatives. This shows that cooperatives can be a motor of innovation that creates a variety of business opportunities based on local potential.
Furthermore, the existence of this cooperative builds new optimism that development from the village is not just discourse, but an ongoing reality. Villages are no longer isolated and underdeveloped areas, but have become centers of production, innovation, and independence. The Red and White Village Cooperative is a symbol that the true economic strength of the nation lies in the ability of the people in the village to unite, work together, and strengthen each other. In every process, this cooperative instills the value of collective self-confidence which is an important foundation in realizing economic sovereignty from below.
The Red and White Village Cooperative is believed to be able to go further in building a prosperous and sovereign village future. The spirit of mutual cooperation that is its soul will continue to be the main fuel in facing various challenges and turning them into opportunities. This cooperative not only gives new hope to the village, but also offers an inclusive and sustainable economic development model for the entire country. Through the Red and White Village Cooperative, it is clearly seen that village economic independence is not just a dream, but something that can be achieved through hard work, togetherness, and innovation.
)* The author is an observer of development economics