Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — President Prabowo Subianto announced that the budget allocation for the Free Nutritious Meals program will be set at Rp10,000 ($0.64) per portion, sparking debate among the public as it represents a decrease from the previous allocation of Rp15,000 per portion.
According to a report from DetikFinance, the Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana, clarified that the figure was based on the average cost observed during an 11-month trial phase, primarily conducted in Java.
“Let’s not misunderstand, this is the result of trials conducted over 11 months in Java. Thus, the average cost came to this amount,” Dadan Said. “President Prabowo mentioned the average; in areas where costs are higher, the budget will adjust accordingly,” Dadan explained during a press briefing at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday, December 2.
In regions where food costs are lower, Dadan noted, the allocation per portion could also decrease. He emphasized that the Rp10,000 figure is not a fixed upper or lower limit but rather an average derived from trial results across various locations.
“It’s not the bottom price—it’s an average. In December, we’ll expand trials from Aceh to Papua to determine the regional price indices,” Dadan added.
In areas where costs exceed Rp10,000, Dadan assured that the government would cover the actual expenses. The program will fund raw ingredients rather than prepackaged meals, aligning costs with local food prices.
The program’s total budget remains unchanged at Rp71 trillion ($4.6 billion) as stipulated in the national budget (APBN). However, Dadan refrained from specifying which regions might require higher allocations, stating that the December trials would provide clearer data.
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The trial phase is set to cover 150 locations nationwide, with teams already deployed to various regions. “For now, based on the Java trials, we’ve arrived at the Rp10,000 average. But we’re preparing for trials outside Java in December, with teams deployed from Aceh to Papua,” Dadan said.
The program’s official launch is scheduled for January 2025, following the completion of the trials.
Free Nutritious Meals program
President Prabowo first disclosed details of the Free Nutritious Meals program during a press conference on provincial minimum wages for 2025. He explained that the initiative aims to improve workers’ welfare by targeting their families, including children and pregnant mothers.
“We aim to allocate Rp10,000 per day per child or pregnant mother, on average. Ideally, we’d like it to be Rp15,000, but given current budget constraints, Rp10,000 is sufficient to provide quality, nutritious meals,” Prabowo said during his remarks at the Presidential Office on Friday, Nivember 29.
The recent announcement about the program budget allocation has drawn mixed reactions. With critics questioning whether the reduced allocation will be adequate to meet the program’s nutritional goals in regions with higher living costs.
(Raidi/Agung)
