Jakarta, April 24 -- Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono emphasized that the Red and White Village Cooperative program offers a solution to improve the village economy without burdening the state budget.

In a statement here on Wednesday, Juliantono underlined that the program is designed to create a new, mutually beneficial economic ecosystem in villages as well as eliminate the predatory practices of loan sharks and online lenders that harm village communities.

Through Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2025, the government targets the establishment of 80 thousand village cooperatives by July 2025, with operations of those cooperatives targeted to start in September 2025.

The operational budget, estimated at Rp5 billion...