Government Announces Budget Reduction for Free Nutritious Meal Programme

Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi stated that, based on calculations and governance improvements, there will be a reduction in the budget requirements for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Programme. “It is not a cut, but from the results of the calculation, we believe there will be a reduction in the budget needs for this MBG Programme, so we are asking for time to calculate with the Ministry of Finance and the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). So, from the restructuring process, we will be able to calculate more carefully the actual total budget needed for this MBG Programme,” Prasetyo said after a coordination meeting at the Coordinating Ministry for Food Office in Jakarta on Thursday (11/6). The MBG budget for 2026 has been set at Rp268 trillion. The State Secretary emphasised that the government has agreed on a comprehensive restructuring of the MBG Programme, targeted for completion within one month. “In terms of time, as soon as possible, because there are actually clusters of problems. So, the majority is running according to the established mechanisms and standard operating procedures (SOP), so that continues. However, there are clusters that we must reorganise and improve, including prioritising the programme for disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions so they can quickly benefit from this MBG Programme,” he explained. Prasetyo added that the government is also continuing efforts to increase MBG recipients from the group of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and toddlers (3B) within the next two weeks. In the restructuring process, the government is also refocusing beneficiaries, including reducing distribution to schools that, based on data and priorities, do not qualify for MBG distribution. “Then there will be an agreement on whether a school is eligible or a priority to receive MBG or not, because that has been the standard operating procedure from the start,” Prasetyo said. Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) revealed a swelling of 6,877 SPPG points, which could lead to potential waste of Rp12 trillion per year. “The initial plan was 21,000 points, but now there are 27,877 points. There is a swelling of 6,877 points,” Zulhas said. Additionally, there has been a surge in SPPG points in 3T regions from the original target of 2,000 to 8,617 points. “A comprehensive restructuring by the Head of BGN and the new management is needed to fix this very important programme,” Zulhas said. Meanwhile, Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Nanik S Deyang stated that her agency is taking several efficiency measures to ensure the programme does not burden state finances without changing the nutritional fulfilment targets for beneficiaries. The first step taken is a moratorium on opening new points and kitchens. Currently, there are 27,877 operational kitchen points based on virtual accounts, which will be reorganised to assess the suitability of service capacity with the number of beneficiaries in each region.