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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono is confident that the Red and White Village Cooperative can stabilize national inflation by strengthening the village economy. Consequently, his ministry is accelerating the cooperative's physical development, including the construction of outlets, warehouses, and supporting operational buildings.Ferry noted that the accelerated physical development is mandated by Presidential Instruction Number 17 of 2025. "The President is targeting completion of all physical construction by March of next year. We must inventory at least 1,000 land plots every day to expedite development," he said in a written statement on Monday, October 27, 2025.As of October 2025, Ferry stated that 82,223 Red and White Village Cooperative units have achieved legal status, boasting 1.12 million members. Of those 82,000 units, approximately 68,000 have Village Cooperative Management Information System accounts, and 18,000 are actively updating data regarding the ownership status of their operating outlets.He is optimistic that the cooperative will become a new channel for the government's efforts to stabilize food prices and curb inflation. This is because the cooperative can act as a grassroots economic institution for distributing government programs, such as social assistance or subsidies, to the community."Once this cooperative is operational, the inflation monitoring process will be more detailed and comprehensive. The government can directly control inflation through village cooperatives," Ferry added.Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian similarly explained the role of the cooperative in controlling regional inflation. He believes the program can address high food prices circulating among the community, stating, "The key is village cooperatives."Regarding the government's target, the annual inflation rate has been set at 2.5 percent plus/minus 1 percent. As of September 2025, inflation was recorded at 2.65 percent. "If the Red and White Village Cooperative were operational in all regions, the local economy would grow and inflation could be more stable," Tito concluded.Concerns Over Centralized ApproachSuroto, Chairperson of the Strategic Socio-Economic Cadre Association (AKSES), however, expressed concern about the cooperative's sustainability, arguing it was formed using a centralized approach. He stated that excessive government intervention has led to the community misunderstanding the goals and business mechanisms of cooperatives.Suroto contended that instead of addressing the community's real needs, the Red and White Village Cooperative was formed solely due to government funding. "Cooperatives must be developed through the community's own initiative," Suroto told Tempo on Monday, June 9, 2025.He further criticized establishing the cooperative through a village meeting, arguing that this process violates regulations. Since cooperatives are private legal entities, not public entities like the government, this approach risks turning them into bureaucratic institutions and diminishing their entrepreneurial capacity."This will make cooperatives weak and always waiting for instructions from above," Suroto concluded, warning that this fundamental error could lead to a public misconception about cooperatives in Indonesia.Editor’s Choice: Villages to See 20% of Red and White Cooperatives Revenues, Says MinisterClick here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
