BGN Clarifies Statement on MBG Requiring 19,000 Cattle Per Day
The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, has clarified his statement claiming that the free nutritious meal (MBG) programme requires 19,000 cattle per day. Dadan stated that the figure is a scenario or simulation of beef needs, assuming all nutrition fulfilment service units (SPPG) simultaneously prepare beef-based menus.
This IPB University lecturer said that the actual needs in the field do not reach that number. “This is just an assumption if we instruct all our SPPG on a certain date to cook beef, then we simply add up the number of SPPG multiplied by one cow,” said Dadan, quoted from the BGN website on Thursday, 23 April 2026.
Dadan explained that for one cooking session, the beef requirement at one SPPG is around 350-382 kilograms, equivalent to one cow. Assuming all 1,900 SPPG units prepare such menus simultaneously, it would require 19,000 cattle in one day.
Nevertheless, Dadan stressed that BGN does not implement a uniform national menu policy. This is done to avoid surges in food ingredient demands that could impact market prices. He cited an incident during the MBG programme’s celebration of President Prabowo Subianto’s birthday on 17 October 2025.
At that time, all SPPG simultaneously prepared the same menu of fried rice and fried eggs. The egg requirement reached 36 million units. “That day required 36 million eggs or about 2,200 tonnes. The impact was that egg prices temporarily rose by Rp3,000,” said Dadan.
From that experience, BGN chose a flexible approach in compiling MBG menus, adapting to local resource potentials and community preferences in each region. “Because we want to empower local resource potentials and also local community preferences. So that the pressure on consumption is not too high,” said Dadan.
Previously, Dadan’s statement on beef needs for MBG came under scrutiny again after a clip of his remarks went viral on social media. The statement was made by Dadan to President Prabowo Subianto during a cabinet meeting held on Monday, 15 December last year.
In that meeting, Dadan reported that each MBG kitchen would slaughter one cow to meet the animal protein needs for MBG recipient children. With a target of opening 19,000 SPPG by the end of the year, Dadan calculated that 19,000 cattle would be needed every day.
“So if by the end of this year there are 19,000 SPPG, then there are 19,000 cows slaughtered in one day because of the MBG programme. If four times a month, just multiply it,” Dadan said to Prabowo.