Purbaya Confident MBG Programme's Contribution to National Economy Exceeds 1 Percent

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme has created numerous job opportunities and made a substantial contribution to Indonesia’s economy.

He explained that, based on the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) calculation where each 1 percent economic growth absorbs around 450,000 workers, the MBG programme could absorb up to 1 million workers.

“This input, this growth, how many jobs? If I’m not mistaken, the latest figure I know is that 1 percent (economic growth) creates 450,000 jobs,” said Purbaya during a conversation with the media in the Ministry of Finance area, Jakarta, on Tuesday, 7 April 2026.

“So if it’s 1 million (jobs, the economic growth is) a little over 2 percent. Roughly that’s just from MBG,” he added.

Nevertheless, Purbaya acknowledged that the figure is still a gross calculation, not net. This is because some workers entering the MBG programme are transfers from other sectors.

Thus, it is essentially just a shift in workers, not absorption or creation of new jobs.

“But there are also people moving there, right, which becomes a deduction. So the 2 percent isn’t full,” said Purbaya.

However, Purbaya still believes that the positive impact of the MBG programme on the national economy is significant. He estimated its contribution to the national economy to be more than 1 percent if implemented optimally.

“I think (the MBG programme’s contribution to the economy) more than 1 percent, the impact will be visible if run well. That’s net, not gross like earlier,” he stated.