JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—A total of 1,501 candidates selected to manage Indonesia’s Red and White Village Cooperatives (KDMP) did not continue the recruitment process after receiving employment offers, according to figures released by PT Agrinas Pangan Nusantara.

The number corrects reports claiming that 1,051 serving cooperative managers had resigned en masse. Agrinas’ data show that 969 candidates rejected their offering letters, while another 532 did not respond before their offers expired. Together, the two groups total 1,501 people.

Meanwhile, 27,099 candidates accepted and signed their offers. Based on those figures, about 94.8 percent of the 28,600 recipients continued to the assignment stage, while approximately 5.2 percent rejected or did not complete the process.

“Some 27,099 KDKMP managers have signed their offering letters as formal confirmation that they have accepted their assignments,” Agrinas president director Joao Angelo de Sousa Mota said in a social media statement.

The recruitment issue largely concerns where Agrinas assigned the prospective managers. Several candidates said their placements were far from their registered homes, with some reportedly receiving assignments in other provinces.

A number of candidates visited Agrinas’ office to discuss possible relocation. “They hoped they could be relocated,” Joao said.

Agrinas said it would communicate the requests to the Cooperatives Ministry. However, an expired offer does not necessarily prove that the recipient formally resigned after starting work. The available data only show that the candidates did not complete the offer stage.

The distinction is important because describing the development as a mass resignation by incumbent managers could incorrectly suggest that 1,501 operating cooperatives had lost their leadership.

Agrinas has a central role in preparing KDKMP outlets and supporting their initial operations. Joao said managers would need to work with village officials and local communities because staffing alone could not ensure that each cooperative developed a viable business.

President Prabowo Subianto launched the legal entities of 80,081 village and urbanward cooperatives in July 2025. The government designed the program to shorten supply chains and expand access to basic goods, agricultural inputs and financial services. The Presidential Secretariat described it as a national strategy for strengthening village economies.

Legal establishment, however, does not mean that every cooperative is fully operational. In an August 2026 address, Prabowo said 10,000 KDKMP units had begun operating, including 3,300 operating at an optimal level. The government aims to have 30,000 functioning properly by the end of 2026.

The placement dispute therefore highlights an implementation challenge rather than evidence of a nationwide management collapse. Resolving relocation requests and ensuring that managers arrive at operationally ready cooperatives will be crucial to meeting the government’s year-end target.