Officially Inaugurated, Nanik Focuses on Budget Efficiency and Reorganising MBG Recipients
The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, along with her two deputies, Trenggono and Agustina Arumsari, have been officially inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto. Nanik explained that Arumsari will be responsible for managing financial matters, while Trenggono will oversee kitchen operations in the underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions.
“I am accompanied here by Mrs Arumsari, who will monitor my financial management daily. With precision and correctness. I will not make any decisions regarding expenditures unless Mrs Sari approves,” Nanik stated after the inauguration at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Monday (8/6/2026).
“Beside me is Mr Trenggono, who will also support me by working on kitchens in the 3T areas and in territories that have not yet been developed,” she added.
Under her leadership, the BGN will focus on optimising budget efficiency. Nanik emphasised that efficiency will be pursued without compromising the objective of meeting nutritional needs for children.
“Our first step, as I mentioned recently, is a concern for budget efficiency. This is to ensure we do not burden the state budget at this time, while still maintaining our nutritional targets,” she said.
Several steps are being taken by the BGN to achieve this efficiency, including a moratorium on the opening of new kitchens.
“We are implementing efficiency first through a moratorium. This applies not only to new points but also to new kitchens. As of today, the number of operational kitchen points based on virtual accounts is 27,877,” she noted.
Furthermore, Nanik emphasised that the beneficiaries of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme will be refocused to ensure they reach the intended targets. She stated that the MBG programme will not be extended to students from higher economic backgrounds.
“Secondly, we are refocusing the beneficiaries. This means assessing whether it is necessary—it feels unnecessary for wealthy schools, as they likely already have better nutrition at home. We will direct our efforts towards children or beneficiaries who truly require nutritional intervention,” she said.
Additionally, the BGN will work to improve the quality of existing kitchens. Nanik plans to increase field inspections to ensure that MBG kitchens operate according to technical guidelines.
“Thirdly, we will focus on quality control. We have informed the President that in 2026, we are not chasing quantity, but quality. We will check whether the current kitchens comply with the technical guidelines. We will implement a grading system; for example, determining whether a kitchen can serve 3,000, 2,000, or 1,000 recipients, and categorising them accordingly,” she concluded.