Purbaya Considers Free Nutritious Meals Efficiency, National Nutrition Agency to Follow President's Decision

JAKARTA — The head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, has stated that the BGN will follow all decisions by President Prabowo Subianto regarding the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme.

This statement was made by Dadan in response to Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who has opened the possibility of streamlining the MBG programme if pressure on the state budget increases due to rising global oil prices.

“The BGN will implement whatever decision the President makes,” Dadan said when contacted by Kompas.com on Monday, 9 March 2026.

Previously, Dadan had stated that his agency would disburse 1.2 trillion rupiah daily to implement the MBG in 2026. Dadan explained that the BGN received a budget allocation of 268 trillion rupiah with reserve funds of 67 trillion rupiah for the following year. These funds would be directly channelled to the Nutritional Services Units (SPPG) or MBG kitchens in the regions to meet the nutritious meal requirements for children.

The House of Representatives has also officially passed the 2026 state budget bill into law. Most recently, Purbaya has opened the possibility of streamlining the MBG if budget pressure increases due to rising global oil prices.

According to him, the government has conducted simulations of various scenarios for oil price increases, including if global oil prices rise to approximately 92 US dollars per barrel throughout the year.

“We will not touch the food component, as that is the core of the programme,” Purbaya said during an iftar event at the Finance Ministry office in Jakarta on Friday, 6 March 2026.

He cited several supporting expenditures that could potentially be evaluated, such as the purchase of equipment or additional facilities not directly related to the provision of food in the programme.