Jakarta (ANTARA) – Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan has urged Red and White Village Cooperatives to actively purchase locally produced food commodities when prices fall to protect community incomes and maintain food supply stability.“The Red and White Village Cooperatives must serve as distribution hubs. If rice is not being purchased, the cooperative steps in. If fish or eggs are not selling, the cooperative buys them,” he said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.During a direct inspection of the Endang Rejo Red and White Village Cooperative in Central Lampung District, Lampung Province, on Thursday, February 26, he stressed that village cooperatives should not only sell basic goods.He said the cooperatives must act as a bridge between farmers, livestock breeders and fishers and the broader market.“This is where supply is distributed, including meeting the needs of the Nutritional Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) for the Free Nutritious Meals program,” he said.During the visit, Hasan also expressed appreciation to the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) for supporting the physical construction of the Endang Rejo Red and White Village Cooperative, describing it as a joint effort to accelerate village development.He said the village cooperatives could function as a price stabilization mechanism at the village level when oversupply puts downward pressure on producer prices.The minister also called for professional and accountable management of the cooperatives through management training and the recruitment of permanent staff.Nationally, the government aims to complete the construction of 30,000 Red and White Village Cooperative buildings by May or June 2026 before they become fully operational.As of February 5, 2026, around 680 buildings had been completed, most of them located in Central Java, East Java and West Java Provinces.