President Prabowo’s Merah Putih Village Cooperatives: Ending Middlemen & Loan Sharks

President Prabowo Subianto highlighted the significance of launching 800,081 Merah Putih Village Cooperatives to enhance the economic independence of the people and eradicate exploitative practices by middlemen and loan sharks that have disadvantaged rural farmers. During the official inauguration of the program in Bentangan Village, Klaten Regency, Central Java, President Prabowo shared that as the former Chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Harmony Association (HKTI) in 2004, he had witnessed the long-standing issues faced by farmers, such as post-harvest losses due to inadequate transportation and storage facilities. Additionally, he addressed the bureaucratic challenges in distributing subsidized fertilizer to farmers and the exploitation by middlemen who manipulate prices and force farmers to resort to high-interest loans. President Prabowo emphasized that the establishment of the Merah Putih Village Cooperatives aims to break the cycle of exploitation and empower farmers, signaling a transformative shift in addressing these age-old issues plaguing rural communities.

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