Jakarta, July 15 -- The Ministry of Cooperatives envisions business entities under the Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP) program facilitating the absorption and distribution of sugar from local sugarcane farmers to strengthen Indonesia's sugar industry.

"Cooperatives can contribute to people's livelihoods across various sectors, especially agriculture, crop plants, and plantations," Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono said in a press statement cited in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He made the remarks in Semarang, Central Java, on Tuesday (July 14) while explaining that the approach forms part of the government's efforts to empower village cooperatives as catalysts for national food self-sufficiency, including in sugar.

During a dia...