BGN Confirms Budget Cuts for Free Nutritious Meals Programme; Prabowo Drops Numerical Target

The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has announced it will reduce the budget for the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme. The agency confirmed that this budget reduction will be aligned with improvements in governance.

“For 2026, there has already been a budget efficiency measure from Rp 268 trillion to around Rp 229 trillion. However, this figure is still subject to further adjustments based on various governance changes we are currently implementing,” said BGN Deputy Head Agustina Arumsari during a press conference at the BGN office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday (21/7/2026).

She stated that the BGN is currently reviewing various components that affect the use of the state budget (APBN). This effort is being made to ensure that budget utilisation is more effective, efficient, transparent, and accountable.

“If it is later found that further adjustments are needed based on scientific studies and strong data, then the budget figure will be adjusted automatically,” she said.

Agustina added that President Prabowo has asked the BGN to improve its governance. The agency has been given a one-month deadline.

“We have been given time by the President to sharpen the governance, given one month. So, with the results of the re-screening of the 62.7 million beneficiaries, I am confident that it will automatically follow,” she said.

She explained that the budget reduction is not solely for the purpose of saving money. Rather, it is the result of data improvements to ensure the programme is precisely targeted.

She noted that the BGN had found schools being served by two Nutritional Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG). She assessed that this could lead to ineffective budget use.

“If we find cases like that, it automatically means that some of the beneficiaries’ funds were likely wasted previously, because the actual numbers should not have been that high. The basic education data (Dapodik) does not actually show that many,” she said.

For this reason, President Prabowo has asked the BGN not to chase a specific target for the number of beneficiaries. Instead, the agency has been instructed to improve the quality of the programme.

“He is no longer targeting a specific number, but rather focusing on improving quality. It must be precisely targeted,” she added.