DPR Budget Committee Estimates Free Nutritious Meal Programme Budget to Drop to Rp174 Trillion in 2027

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) Budget Committee (Banggar), Said Abdullah, has estimated that the budget for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme will decrease to Rp174 trillion in 2027, down from the 2026 allocation of Rp268 trillion. “The MBG budget will certainly decrease… it will be no more than Rp174 trillion,” Said stated during a meeting at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday. According to him, the budget reduction is based on calculations by the Nutritional Fulfilment Service Unit (SPPG) and the number of beneficiaries according to needs following an evaluation of the programme’s implementation. Said added that the budget adjustment does not signify a reduction in quality but rather aims to ensure proper governance of the programme and maintain the nutritional quality received by students. He noted that the exact figure allocated for next year’s MBG funding will be finalised in September, coinciding with the ratification of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) Law. Previously, Deputy Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the plan to reduce the MBG programme budget would follow the direction of President Prabowo Subianto. When met at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Thursday (11/6), Purbaya confirmed he had received news of the plan but did not disclose the magnitude of the proposed budget cut for the MBG programme. “We follow the President’s decision,” the Deputy Finance Minister said. Meanwhile, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi mentioned there would be a budget reduction for the MBG programme. The plan emerged from calculations and improvements in the governance of the president’s priority programme. However, the government has not yet determined the amount of the budget reduction. Prasetyo requested time for the Ministry of Finance and the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to calculate the potential reduction in the MBG budget. “So, from this restructuring process, we will be able to calculate more precisely what the actual total budget required for this MBG Programme will be,” the State Secretary Minister said on Thursday (11/6).