In the recent convening of the 30th ASEAN Centre for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives Board (ACEDAC) and the 24th ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Agricultural Cooperatives (ASWGAC), hosted by Vietnam, key stakeholders and policymakers from ASEAN countries gathered for their annual meeting on agricultural cooperatives. This forum aimed to discuss various initiatives in the agricultural cooperative movement and cooperative development programs from ASEAN member nations and partners such as the ASEAN Foundation, Asia Farmer Association (AFA), the Government of Japan, and the Non-Timber Forest Product Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP). Notably, Indonesia's Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (Kemenkop) actively participated in both meetings.
ACEDAC and ASWGAC were seen as aligned with Indonesia's business development agenda through cooperatives, particularly in the agricultural and downstream product sectors, which are now a focal point for the ministry. During these gatherings, Kemenkop extended an invitation to Koperasi Al-Itifaq, a modern cooperative in Indonesia, which has successfully implemented a business model focused on product downstreaming and community-based empowerment. Koperasi Al-Itifaq serves as an aggregator and distributor for agricultural products produced by its members. The cooperative has evolved to facilitate members in accessing funding, certification, capacity-building, and value-added processing of agricultural products they produce. Bagus Rahman, Assistant Deputy of Cooperative Renewal and Partnership at Kemenkop, emphasized that the Hilirisasi (downstreaming) and Digitalization Program for Agricultural Cooperatives in Indonesia represents the government's efforts to modernize cooperatives. He highlighted the importance of cooperatives embracing technology and digital transformation, accessing capital, and global markets while striving to reach an industrial scale.
