Jakarta, May 19 -- Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian said that the establishment of Red and White Village Cooperatives is a strategic program to strengthen the village economy.

In a statement released here on Monday, he explained that efforts to strengthen the village economy are important to curb the rate of urbanization as they can open up employment opportunities for rural communities.

The village cooperatives program would not only create jobs, but also encourage the growth of derivative businesses.

"Due to the presence of business operations there, I believe there will be more than 2 million (people) who will be employed," he said during a regional inflation control coordination meeting in Jakarta on Monday.

According to the m...