Red and White Cooperative provides warehouse, pharmacy: President

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto detailed various facilities available at the Red and White Village Cooperative, including warehouses for storing farmers' harvests, cold storage, savings and loan outlets, and pharmacies.

He explained that these facilities are intended to meet the people's needs through the cooperative.

He therefore urged all village and sub-district heads to contribute to advancing the cooperative, including by allocating funds from the Village Fund for its development.

"Each village will have a warehouse to store harvested produce. We will also have tenants for basic necessities, along with outlets for savings and loans. The state-owned banking group, Himbara, can also open counters in every village," the president remarked at the launch of the Red and White Village Cooperatives in Klaten, Central Java, on Monday (July 21).

In addition, the cooperative will be equipped with a pharmacy outlet to provide affordable generic medicines for the community.

On the same occasion, the head of state remarked that one of the funding sources for village cooperatives is the Village Fund.

"The Village Fund is Rp1 billion (US$59 thousand) per year, and it has been available for 10 years. However, sometimes, the money does not bring the needed changes to the village. The budget for each cooperative may require Rp2-2.5 billion (US$118-148 thousand), but it could be less if we use existing village assets," he remarked.

Prabowo said the budget allocated from the Village Fund to the Red and White Village Cooperatives will also be returned to the villages.

Currently, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution, fertilizer supply, and basic food distribution are already operating through the Red and White Village Cooperative.

Furthermore, each cooperative is targeted to have two transport vehicles: one standard-sized pickup truck and one smaller pickup truck or motorized rickshaw (bentor).

"With two vehicles per village, I hope the distribution chain will be streamlined. Later, I hope our fish products will reach all villages in Indonesia to increase protein intake. The protein intake requirement must be fulfilled. Every child must consume sufficient protein. One kilogram of fish costs around Rp60 thousand (US$3.57) or maybe less," the president stated.