October 7, 2025 | 05:23 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Center for Economic and Law Studies (Celios) has recommended distributing the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program funds directly as cash to beneficiaries. According to Celios’ calculations, this approach could provide up to Rp50,000 per child per meal.
“If the funds are given directly to parents, the amount can exceed ten thousand per serving, allowing it to benefit both mother and child,” said Celios researcher Media Wahyudi Askar during the launch of MBGWatch in South Jakarta on Tuesday, October 7, 2025.
Askar explained that the Rp50,000 figure assumes the MBG program is targeted at children in need, such as those from low-income families, malnourished children, and those living in remote, frontier, and disadvantaged areas (3T).
By dividing the MBG 2025 budget of Rp71 trillion among all Indonesian children without additional administrative costs, Askar calculated that each child could receive Rp50,000
“If the program is made more targeted, the budget would be smaller, but each child could receive even more than Rp50,000,” he noted.
Celios argues that direct cash distribution would offer greater benefits than the current Nutritious Meal Fulfillment Service (SPPG), or MBG kitchen program, where allocations per child are only Rp 15,000.
“The assumption that even impoverished children receiving MBG through the kitchen is sufficient is incorrect. Direct cash would be more effective,” Askar said.
However, the Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana, has rejected the idea of shifting to a direct cash scheme. He emphasized that the current MBG model was designed during President Prabowo Subianto’s tenure and is intended as a nutritional intervention.
Dadan also raised concerns about redundancy, noting that cash assistance is already provided through the Ministry of Social Affairs’ Direct Cash Assistance (BLT) program.
“We don’t want to duplicate programs,” he said on Monday, September 22, 2025.
The Institut Pertanian Bogor graduate further argued that cash aid could be misused, citing a case in North Sumatra where a mother used her child’s Smart Indonesia Card (KIP) funds for expenses other than school fees.
“Ultimately, the goal of the MBG program is government intervention to improve children’s nutrition. This program has been carefully designed for that purpose,” Dadan concluded.
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