TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, said his agency would address the Rp200.2 billion budget cut by borrowing land from various government institutions. He explained that this land will be used to build the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) for the free nutritious meal program.

"The land procurement for the SPPG using the state budget can be solved by borrowing," Dadan said when contacted by Tempo on Friday, February 14, 2025.

He said that potential land sources include local governments, the Indonesian Military (TNI), the police, and state-owned enterprises (SOE). He added that BGN could also use unused land owned by various ministries.

Dadan previously confirmed the budget cut for BGN after a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IX on Wednesday evening, February 12, 2025, at the Parliament Complex in Senayan. He mentioned that the reduction followed a meeting with the State Secretary Minister, Prasetyo Hadi, and Finance Ministry officials to discuss budget efficiency restructuring. BGN initially did not face a budget cut.

As widely reported, President Prabowo Subianto instructed a Rp306.69 trillion cut in the 2025 State Budget and Regional Budget to maintain fiscal stability and improve public services through Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 1 of 2025.

Initially, the free nutritious meal (MBG) program would receive an additional Rp100 trillion from the budget cuts of ministries and institutions, according to Tengku Syahdana, Director of Empowerment and Community Participation at BGN.

"The money comes in part from the cost-saving method of 16 positions in Ministries and Institutions, almost all of which were subject to cuts," Tengku said.

"The money partly comes from the cost-saving method of 16 posts of ministries/institutions which were subject to budget cuts," said Tengku during the launch of the 'Second Series of Free Nutritious Meals Study' by the Center for Indonesia's Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) in Jakarta on Thursday, February 6, 2025.

Hanin Marwah contributed to this article.

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