Editor’s Note
- Red-White Cooperative Promotes Community Economic Independence
- 12,200 Red-White Cooperative Managers in North Sumatra Receive Training
- Red-White Cooperative in the Village of Medan Krio
- Subsidized Fertilizer Sales
Red-White Cooperative Promotes Community Economic Independence
The Provincial Government of North Sumatra (Pemprov), through the Bureau for Cooperatives and SMEs, continues to promote the strengthening of the Red-White Village/Neighborhood Cooperative (KDKMP) as one of the pillars of the local economy in North Sumatra.
This program is seen as having significant potential to improve community well-being by strengthening cooperative-based businesses.
To date, 6,100 Red-White cooperatives have been established in villages/neighborhoods throughout North Sumatra, 5,830 cooperatives are active in the Village/Neighborhood Cooperative Management Information System (Simkopdes), and 1,021 cooperatives actively manage local food retail outlets. “Currently, 2,645 plots of land have been allocated for the physical development of cooperatives, of which 527 are under construction and 34 are fully completed,” said Pratiwi Mulya Ningrum, head of the Cooperative Institutions Department at the North Sumatra Bureau for Cooperatives and SMEs, during a visit to the Merah Putih cooperative in Medan Krio village, Sunggal district, on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
12,200 Merah Putih cooperative managers in North Sumatra trained
The Merah Putih village/subdistrict cooperative can open supermarkets, clinics/pharmacies, warehouses, cold stores, gas stations, savings and credit centers, and fertilizer kiosks.
“The Merah Putih Medan Krio cooperative can be a good example of how we strive for innovation and creativity in establishing cooperative enterprises. This cooperative is based on independence and mutual cooperation, which hopefully allows its members to be self-sufficient in their management without being dependent on external parties,” said Pratiwi.
She explained that the challenge in managing this cooperative is that management lacks a business mindset and is dependent on external loans. To address this, the North Sumatra Bureau for Cooperatives and SMEs has provided training to 12,200 Merah Putih cooperative managers in North Sumatra.
“The hope for the future is that the people of North Sumatra can become independent and work together to form a ‘broomstick force,’ meaning that individuals can build collective strength within cooperatives in their respective areas. As a community, we must join cooperatives to build the national economy from the village level,” Pratiwi expressed hope.
Medan Krio Village Cooperative Merah Putih
Ummi Nadra Nasution, head of the KDKMP cooperative in Medan Krio Village, stated that the cooperative was established in May 2025 and has experienced rapid growth, as evidenced by the increasing number of members and the development of its business activities.
When the cooperative was founded, it had only 20 members, and now that number has grown to 130. Business activities have also expanded: from a subsidized gas depot to selling basic necessities, subsidized fertilizer, and offering real-time online banking transactions through Brilink.
“This cooperative remains independent, with its main assets being the members’ initial savings of 300,000 rupiah each and the mandatory savings of 25,000 rupiah each. Fortunately, our current turnover is around 1 to 3 million rupiah per day,” says Ummi.
According to her, the biggest challenge for management so far has been the manual financial reporting system. In the future, this could be developed with a digital application, similar to other stores, where people can immediately see how many points they have after a transaction.
“This financial report is certainly sensitive and related to the members’ SHU (profitable income). With a digital application, members would be able to view their SHU directly. We also hope that our employees can receive management training and, if possible, that we can be assisted in finding key distributors so that we can purchase goods at affordable and competitive prices,” said Ummi.
Subsidized Fertilizer Sales
Raja Chairul Azmi, village head of Medan Krio, said that Medan Krio covers an area of approximately 8,000 hectares, of which 300 hectares are arable land, and has a population of 17,000. Therefore, subsidized fertilizer sales are seen as a potential growth opportunity for the cooperative.
Currently, the physical construction of the KDKMP building in Medan Krio Village is in full swing. “The site of this cooperative, 1,400 square meters, is village land, and construction is 80% complete. ***