BGN Chief Nanik S Deyang Focuses on Budget Efficiency and MBG Kitchen Moratorium

Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Nanik S Deyang has affirmed that budget efficiency is the top priority of her tenure. This strategic move follows the adjustment of the BGN’s budget, which currently stands at Rp268 trillion. In a statement at the BGN Building in Central Jakarta on Thursday (4/6), Nanik revealed that her team is conducting internal consolidation to ensure programmes continue to run optimally despite the budget cuts. She hopes to further reduce expenditure without decreasing the number of target beneficiaries.

“The main issue we have discussed and prepared a work plan for is moving towards budget efficiency. We are concerned; the first thing we are doing is carrying out budget efficiency so that even though it has now been cut to Rp268 trillion, we hope to be able to lower it further without reducing the targets,” Nanik stated on Friday (4/6). As part of the savings drive, the BGN has decided to impose a moratorium, or temporary halt, on the construction of new kitchen points for the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) Programme. The current focus has shifted to refocusing the beneficiary groups so that distribution is better targeted.

In addition to the moratorium, Nanik emphasised that a strict evaluation will be conducted on the MBG kitchens already in operation. Standardisation of food quality and human resources training are crucial points in the internal audit. “We are improving the kitchens that have been established and are operating so that they meet the standards to produce quality food. If a kitchen does not comply, we will of course suspend it,” she asserted. Despite tightening the budget, the BGN remains committed to expanding the programme’s reach to underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. Nanik explained that her agency is preparing alternative schemes so that this expansion does not place an additional burden on the State Budget (APBN). “We are realising the MBG programme for 3T areas with several alternative implementation schemes so as not to burden the APBN. So we are focused on budget efficiency,” Nanik concluded.