Sudaryono to Lead BGN, Gibran: I Trust His Experience
Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka is optimistic about the appointment of Sudaryono as the new head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN). According to him, the Gerindra politician’s experience as Deputy Minister of Agriculture could improve the governance of the free nutritious meal (MBG) programme.
“I trust Pak Sudaryono’s experience as Deputy Agriculture Minister, where he championed food security,” Gibran said in an official statement on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.
He added that the new leadership is backed by a strong commitment from the officials implementing the MBG programme. This, he said, would allow the priority programme to run with more transparent and better-targeted governance.
“So that every rupiah can be accounted for and delivers real benefits for improving the nutrition of Indonesian children,” said the eldest son of former president Joko Widodo.
Gibran also offered his prayers for the recovery of Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, expressing hope that the treatment being undertaken by the former BGN head goes smoothly.
The Vice President further stated his support for focusing the MBG programme on disadvantaged, frontier and outermost (3T) regions, including by involving micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM), school canteens and parents in the implementation of the meal-sharing programme.
“We want the MBG, one of the President’s priority programmes, to run with cleaner, more measurable management, free from corrupt practices,” Gibran said.
Earlier, Nanik S. Deyang announced her resignation as BGN head via her Facebook account. She cited health reasons and a desire to focus on heart treatment.
President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated Sudaryono as BGN head, replacing Nanik, on Wednesday, 22 July 2026, at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said one consideration in appointing Sudaryono was that he had been involved in the free nutritious meal programme run by BGN since its inception.
Sudaryono is known as a figure who has long been within Prabowo’s inner circle. “From the beginning, he joined us all in discussing, conceiving and designing the technical implementation of the nutritious meal programme,” Prasetyo said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.
As an official at the Ministry of Agriculture, Sudaryono is also considered to have played a role in the running of the MBG programme. His duties at the ministry, Prasetyo said, remain closely tied to the distribution of nutritious meals.
According to Prasetyo, the Ministry of Agriculture is a vital pillar in the supply chain of raw materials for the MBG programme. “All this time, it has indeed been supported and sustained as one ecosystem by the Ministry of Agriculture, where Pak Sudaryono serves,” he said.