Regarding MBG's Need for 19,000 Cattle per Day, BGN: It's Just a Hypothesis
The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, has explained his statement regarding the need for 19,000 cattle per day in the free nutritious meal (MBG) programme. Dadan stated that the figure is just a hypothesis.
“This is just a hypothesis. So, for one SPPG, if they cook beef, they need one cow. If, for example, the SPPG wants to cook beef today. If all our SPPGs are instructed to cook beef on a certain date, then it’s just the total number of SPPGs multiplied by one cow,” said Dadan in his statement, as quoted from the official BGN website on Thursday (23/4/2026), cited from detikNews.
The calculation is based on the assumption that all Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) simultaneously prepare menus using beef.
Dadan explained that in one cooking process, the beef requirement for one SPPG can reach around 350 to 382 kilograms.
“The menu includes eggs, chicken, beef, and fish. For example, if cooking beef, it requires 350 kilograms per cooking session, which means one cow. This is why nutritious meals are important for good ration capture. So, one beef cooking session requires 382 (kg), meaning one cow, just the meat,” he said.
Nevertheless, Dadan explained that BGN never implements a uniform national menu policy to avoid surges in food ingredient needs that could impact market prices.
He also explained the MBG menu during the celebration of President Prabowo Subianto’s birthday on 17 October, where the menu served to around 36 million beneficiaries consisted of fried rice and eggs.
“That day required 36 million eggs or about 2,200 tonnes. The impact was that egg prices temporarily rose by Rp3,000,” he clarified.
Therefore, BGN chooses flexibility in compiling the MBG menu, adjusting to local resource potential and community preferences in each region.
“Because we want to empower local resource potential and also local community preferences. So that the pressure on consumption is not too high. If we mandate a national menu, the pressure would be high, and prices would certainly rise,” Dadan concluded.