Free Nutritious Meals Programme Seen as Boost for Agricultural Sector and Women's Empowerment

Jakarta — The Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme has been assessed as having an impact that extends well beyond meeting public nutritional needs, generating a significant domino effect on the national economy.

University of Indonesia economist Dr Fithra Faisal Hastiadi explained that the sector most affected has been agriculture, which achieved significant growth in 2025. He revealed that the MBG programme has helped drive agricultural sector growth by creating a more inclusive economic ecosystem.

“In Q4 2025, on a macro level we grew by 5.39 per cent year-on-year. One of the key drivers was Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), which grew by 6.12 per cent year-on-year,” Fithra said in a statement on Friday, 20 February 2026.

“If we look more closely at our economic performance, we can see agricultural sector growth of 5.33 per cent year-on-year, because the products are being absorbed by the SPPG [Free Nutritious Meals Supply Centres],” he added.

Fithra noted that SPPG managing partners and entrepreneurs have begun investing in upstream MBG products, such as farming and livestock. Consequently, the surge in agricultural sector growth as a positive impact of MBG is unsurprising.

“Agricultural sector growth last year was in fact the highest in several years. If we look at 2025, growth was 5.33 per cent; in 2024 it was only 0.68 per cent; in 2023 just 1.31 per cent. So from this alone we can see that the growth has been significant,” he said.

Based on a survey conducted by the Research Institute of Socio-Economic Development (RISED) of 1,800 parents, the MBG programme was found to have had a positive impact on household budget efficiency.

RISED researcher M. Fajar Rakhmadi said that 36 per cent of respondents recorded a reduction in daily expenditure, primarily owing to decreased costs for packed lunches and children’s pocket money. Although 63 per cent of families reported savings of less than 10 per cent of total monthly spending, the presence of MBG was considered effective in maintaining the stability of regular household expenditure.

Support for the continuation of the MBG programme, according to the RISED study results, reached 81 per cent among parents in vulnerable households. Notably, parents did not view MBG merely as an economic benefit, but also saw the programme as providing security and comfort.