November 21, 2025 | 06:47 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Nanik S. Deyang, raised concerns regarding the availability of raw materials for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program to President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, November 20, 2025. Also present at the meeting were Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman and Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning Nusron Wahid.
Nanik stated that the BGN has begun facing difficulties in procuring raw materials for the program, particularly milk. In response to this shortage, President Prabowo instructed his subordinates to establish dairy farming operations to meet the demand. Nanik noted that the government aims to produce 3 million liters of cow's milk per day.
"For example, regarding milk, we have started facing sourcing difficulties. We will immediately establish dairy farms to fulfill the needs of the MBG program as well as the general public. We aim to produce around 3 million liters of milk per day," Nanik said after the closed-door meeting.
In addition to cow's milk, Nanik stated that the government plans to produce soy milk. Meanwhile, Minister Nusron Wahid is set to allocate land for vegetable cultivation.
"Pak Nusron will open new land for vegetables, but the broader goal is food self-sufficiency," she said. "For instance, soybeans have been heavily imported, but now we aim to stop importing. Alongside milk, there is a significant requirement for tofu and tempeh for the MBG program."
The Nutritious Meal Fulfillment Service (SPPG) requires 200 to 300 kilograms of tofu and tempeh daily for the free meals. Nanik explained that this high demand has led the government to initiate its own soybean cultivation.
"If we do not cultivate soybeans ourselves, we may face shortages. Currently, we are only at 50 percent capacity for the MBG needs," she said.
Nanik emphasized that securing raw materials is crucial to prevent the program from triggering inflation or a spike in food prices, particularly as Indonesia approaches the Christmas and New Year holidays.
"We do not want the free nutritious meal program to cause an increase in commodity prices and subsequent inflation that affects the people. Therefore, we are coordinating closely, and the President has issued specific instructions," Nanik concluded.
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