TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's National Nutrition Body (BGN) states that the budget for the free nutritious meals program (MBG) may potentially be adjusted in line with the evaluation of governance and the refinement of the target beneficiaries. BGN Deputy Head Agustina Arumsari said that President Prabowo Subianto has given them one month to perfect the program's governance before determining the final budget amount.
Arumsari mentioned that the previous budget for MBG was planned at Rp268 trillion. However, it has currently experienced efficiency and reduced to around Rp229 trillion. She noted that this figure is still subject to change as the refocusing of beneficiaries and the governance evaluation are still ongoing.
"It will definitely decrease, but let's wait until it's final," said Arumsari at a press conference at the BGN office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
She explained that the budget adjustment is not solely aimed at cutting state spending. According to her, the change in the budget amount will follow the evaluation results regarding the program's needs and the improvement of governance.
"It's not about reducing it just for the sake of it. We will reconsider the refocusing based on justifiable reasons. The cost will automatically follow," she said.
Arumsari stated that the evaluation also aims to ensure the more effective, efficient, transparent, and accountable implementation of MBG. One aspect under review is the accuracy of the target beneficiaries.
During the evaluation process, BGN found indications of overlapping services for students. She cited an example of a school that was served by two nutrition fulfillment service units (SPPG), where students in grades 1 to 3 were served by one MBG kitchen, while students in grades 4 to 6 were served by another kitchen.
According to Arumsari, this finding was discovered after cross-referencing the beneficiary data with the Education Basic Data (Dapodik). BGN is currently investigating the cause of this condition before finalizing changes to the beneficiary data.
Furthermore, Arumsari stated that the President requested BGN to prioritize the program's implementation quality over the target number of beneficiaries. The evaluation also includes food safety aspects following several food poisoning cases that occurred during MBG implementation.
"The President has instructed us not to target specific numbers, but to improve the quality for accurate targeting. There shouldn't be any more food poisoning cases. The process of milk distribution is also being evaluated, such as the storage process and so on," she said.
Arumsari emphasized that BGN cannot yet disclose the amount of reduced beneficiaries or the latest budget figure because the refinement process is still ongoing. According to her, the final evaluation results will be announced after the data screening is completed in approximately one month.
Prior to this, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated the budget cut to Rp268 trillion was for savings. President Prabowo Subianto reportedly wants the funding for MBG to be more efficient. "Don't blame MBG anymore. The President is improving the management and spending of MBG funds," said Purbaya on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
As of April 30, the realized budget for MBG was recorded at Rp75 trillion, or 22.4 percent of the original budget allocation of Rp335 trillion. With this expenditure, MBG has reached 61.96 million beneficiaries and 27,952 Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG).
M. Faiz Zaki contributed to the writing of this article.
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