TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, said there would be an addition of Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) for the free nutritious meal program (MBG) in February 2025. Dadan said that the number of new SPPG units would be nearly equal to those operational since January.

"There will be at least 230 new SPPG units," said Dadan to Tempo on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

The MBG program has been implemented in 31 provinces across Indonesia and operates 238 SPPG units. With the additional inaugurated SPPG units next month, at least 468 kitchens will prepare meals for the free nutritious meal program. However, Dadan does not want to specify the locations of the new SPPG units. He only assured that they would be distributed across Indonesia.

The lecturer at the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) also said the percentage of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that participate in the MBG program.

"So far, it has reached 32 percent," he said, referring to 230 new SPPG units. Dadan said the remaining SPPG units come from various sectors, which he did not specify.

"For the next update," said Dadan when asked which sector dominates the SPPG.

Besides that, Dadan said the reimbursement system for MBG partner payments would no longer apply as of February 2025. He said that MBG partners would receive payments directly into their accounts simultaneously, instead of covering operational costs upfront as they did in January.

BGN has an IDR 71 trillion budget to implement the free nutritious meal program until the end of 2025, targeting up to 15 million beneficiaries. Recently, President Prabowo Subianto asked BGN to accelerate efforts to reach a target of 89 million beneficiaries.

Previously, Dadan mentioned that the acceleration would require additional funding. He estimated that his agency would need about IDR 100 trillion to implement the president’s directive.

"So, the President asked us, if the program is accelerated, how much funding would be needed? We answered IDR 100 trillion," he said when met in South Jakarta on Saturday, January 25, 2025.

At the moment, Dadan said that the government has already reimbursed the initial production costs of SPPG in the early phase of the MBG program. He also mentioned the government’s commitment to no longer using the same payment system for MBG partners.

"We are working on it. Starting in February, it will no longer be a reimbursement system—state funds will be directly deposited into the partners' accounts," said Dadan.

Novali Panji contributed to the writing of this article.

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