InfoSAWIT, KOTAWARINGIN BARAT – The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop) is continuously advocating for accelerated, community-based palm oil downstreaming. One of the key vehicles for this is the Karya Sawit Mandiri Jaya Secondary Cooperative (KSMJ), formed by seven primary cooperatives with a consolidated land area reaching 6,000 hectares. This cooperative is being guided toward establishing a CPO mill, enabling smallholders to capture added value and secure a reliable market.
“Strengthening the capacity of the Kopdes Merah Putih management is a priority. Therefore, all village cooperatives will be accompanied by a Business Assistant to help them manage their businesses professionally,” said Elviandi, Assistant Deputy for Production Development at Kemenkop, representing the Deputy for Cooperative Business Development, at a Technical Guidance (Bimtek) event on leading commodity downstreaming in Kotawaringin Barat on Saturday (9/27/2025).
According to Elviandi, Kemenkop's focus involves several steps:
Increasing production capacity through appropriate processing technology.
Encouraging the digitalization of the Kopdes Merah Putih network. Currently, out of the 94 recorded cooperatives, 21 still need to register with the Simkopdes system to gain easier access to financing.
Strengthening the cooperatives' business plans to secure funding from institutions like LPDB, Agriterra, and local governments.
Furthermore, product standardization is considered vital to ensure the guaranteed quality of the Kopdes Merah Putih products and their readiness to compete in the market. "All parties need to support KSMJ so it can become a pilot project for cooperative-based palm oil downstreaming for the smallholders," Elviandi explained in an official statement obtained by InfoSAWIT on Tuesday (9/30/2025).
The Bimtek event was attended offline by 60 Kopdes Merah Putih and the KSMJ Secondary Cooperative, along with its seven primary cooperatives. Over 40 other village cooperatives joined online. Through this activity, Kemenkop hopes cooperative managers can identify opportunities, develop downstream businesses, and strengthen the village economy.
Kotawaringin Barat is known as one of the largest palm oil potential areas in Central Kalimantan. The construction of a CPO mill is a priority as it paves the way for higher-value derivative products, ranging from packaged cooking oil, soap, cosmetics, to biomass energy. "Beyond palm oil, there are other commodities that Kopdes Merah Putih can develop to strengthen community economics," Elviandi added. (T2)
