BGN Goes to Campus at Unhas, Encouraging Universities to Become Epicentre of Eastern Indonesia's MBG
Makassar - The Rector of Universitas Hasanuddin, Jamaluddin Jompa, emphasised the commitment of higher education institutions to supporting the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme as part of efforts to improve national nutrition while strengthening the local economy. He made this statement while opening the BGN Goes to Campus event held at the Prof. A. Amiruddin Auditorium of the Faculty of Medicine at Universitas Hasanuddin.
Jamaluddin stated that the MBG programme is not merely a sectoral initiative but a major cross-disciplinary agenda within the campus environment. For Unhas, he said, MBG is not just a programme for one faculty, but all faculties must be involved.
He assessed MBG as a strategic programme that would be a pity if not utilised by higher education institutions. “MBG is an extraordinary programme; it’s a shame if the campus only becomes a spectator,” he said.
According to him, Unhas has prepared various concrete supports, from food production to innovation development. The Faculty of Animal Husbandry, for example, has been able to produce up to 70,000 chickens per month.
Unhas has successfully developed the superior local chicken breed Ayam Alope, a new strain of improved native chicken resulting from Universitas Hasanuddin’s innovation that is highly adaptable in South Sulawesi.
He said the Faculty of Marine Sciences and Fisheries is ready to supply fish needs. In fact, the campus is also developing non-MSG flavour enhancers as part of healthy food innovations.
“The entire SPPG kitchen process will be made the best model. Studies at Unhas are directed so that all MBG ingredients can be produced from the campus itself,” said Jamaluddin.
Jamaluddin also emphasised Unhas’s ambition to become the leading centre for MBG in eastern Indonesia. “Unhas is ready to become the centre of excellence for MBG in the eastern Indonesia region. The principle of nationalism must be present; all products should be endeavoured to be locally made, including ompreng to operational vehicles,” he said.
He revealed that Indonesia is the world’s centre of biodiversity. “Don’t let us still import chickens for our needs at a very high cost,” he stated.