Jakarta, Aug. 6 -- The government intends the Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP) program to help rural regions strengthen their economies by downstreaming their leading commodities, Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan said.

"Cooperatives must drive downstreaming efforts to market and process marine and plantation yields into products with greater added value for the benefit of rural residents," he noted in a statement cited Thursday.

Speaking at a national seminar on the KDMP program in Ternate, North Maluku, on Wednesday (Aug. 5), Hasan emphasized the importance of the province leveraging its fisheries and plantation potential through cooperatives.

The minister expressed confidence that village cooperatives ha...