Village cooperatives set to absorb 1.6 million workers: official

Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono said the establishment of around 80 thousand cooperatives, planned under the Red and White Village Cooperatives program is projected to empower approximately 1.6 million residents.

"Assuming each of the 80 thousand cooperatives employs 20 persons comprising supervisors, administrators, and managers, this program could absorb 1.6 million workers. We aim to attract as many members as possible to boost rural economies," he remarked in a seminar in Bandung, West Java, on Saturday (May 10).

The seminar focused on the legacy of Mohammad Hatta, Indonesia’s first vice president, who is nationally respected as the father of cooperatives.

Juliantono emphasized that the planned cooperatives would not offer only savings and loan services but would also function as productive business entities across sectors.

"These cooperatives are designed to manage the potential of their host villages, covering agriculture, horticulture, plantations, livestock, and fisheries," he pointed out.

He added that the government intends to drive Red and White Village Cooperatives to move beyond small business operations.

"Some cooperatives used to jointly run textile factories, and this is the level of business capacity we seek to revive. We will also erect milk factories, through which cooperatives are expected to produce pasteurized dairy products. In short, cooperatives must scale up," he said.

The deputy minister further noted that the initiative also aims to instill Hatta’s cooperative ideals in the younger generation and promote the cooperation-based economy mandated by Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution.

Meutia Farida, Hatta's daughter and chairperson of the Hatta Foundation, lauded the government for its ongoing efforts to build a more suitable ecosystem for cooperatives.

"We find it important for cooperatives to play a bigger role in society," she said during the seminar.

She also stressed that the presence of talents with confidence and spirit of collaboration is key to successful and productive cooperatives.