Bulog Plans Premium Fortified Rice for Free Nutritious Meal Programme
State logistics agency Perum Bulog is preparing a concept for premium rice enriched with vitamins, or fortified, to support the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme. The rice is specifically designed for the needs of the MBG programme and is confirmed to be different from the Food Supply and Price Stabilisation (SPHP) rice.
Bulog President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani stated that the proposal had been conveyed to Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman and Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Sudaryono. He explained that the rice for MBG would not use a subsidy scheme, hence the agency is preparing a premium rice with added vitamins.
“One of Bulog’s future programmes is to create this. It is not SPHP rice, but a special premium variety. The MBG programme does not allow subsidised rice, so we are planning this concept to support the MBG programme,” Rizal said when met at the Ministry of Agriculture office in Jakarta on Tuesday evening.
Rizal explained that the fortification of the rice is intended to increase the nutritional intake of MBG beneficiaries, particularly children and pregnant women. With the addition of vitamins to the rice, he hopes the programme can provide greater benefits in supporting the improvement of public nutritional quality.
“So that children will be more intelligent in the future, because the rice itself already contains many vitamins, complemented by highly nutritious side dishes,” he said.
He noted that the proposal will be further discussed in a Limited Coordination Meeting together with the Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan. According to Rizal, both the Agriculture Minister and the Head of the National Nutrition Agency have given a positive response to the plan as part of Bulog’s support for President Prabowo Subianto’s priority programme.
Regarding pricing, Rizal assured that the price of the premium fortified rice for MBG will be adjusted according to the scheme to be determined by the government. “We can adjust the price later,” he concluded.