Jakarta. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Tuesday that the government is open to reviewing budget allocations for the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program to ensure public spending is directed toward initiatives with the greatest economic impact.

“I am not against the MBG program, but I want to see it run optimally. We will go through it one by one to see if there are parts that are not optimal or areas we can trim to reduce the deficit or reallocate to better programs,” Purbaya told reporters at the Thamrin Nine Ballroom.

The government aims to deliver the MBG program to 82.9 million beneficiaries, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, children under five, and students up to senior high school level. The program could require up to Rp350 trillion ($20.88 billion) annually.

Purbaya said the ministry is assessing how effective the program’s budget absorption has been, adding that MBG spending in 2025 fell short of its target. As a result, the government plans to conduct tighter monitoring from the start of the year to ensure funds are absorbed effectively and the program reaches its intended recipients.

As of end-December 2025, realization of MBG program budget stood at Rp 51.5 trillion, or around 72.5% of its Rp 71 trillion ceiling. The program reached 56.13 million beneficiaries out of the 82.9 million targeted across 38 provinces, supported by 19,343 kitchens (SPPG).

“If we look at last year, spending amounted to several tens of trillions of rupiah, but it did not even reach Rp 100 trillion. For a full year this time, even with additions that deliver the most benefit, we can estimate how much is really needed. At the very least, we can get an overview, it seems there may be excess,” he said.

The government has set the 2026 state budget (APBN) deficit target at Rp 689.14 trillion, equivalent to 2.68% of gross domestic product (GDP), down from Rp 695.1 trillion, or 2.92% of GDP, in 2025.

Earlier, researcher Tira Mutiara from the Institute for Demographic and Affluence Studies (Ideas) warned that turning MBG into a universal program could place an excessive burden on state finances. If fully implemented for all targets, around 83 million beneficiaries comprising 58 million school-age children and 25 million toddlers and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Based on simulations using the 2025 National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas), which examined chicken egg consumption, chicken meat consumption, and the share of household spending on food, Ideas identified 169 priority regions for MBG with around 16.2 million beneficiaries. Under this targeted approach, annual funding needs would be about Rp 66.1 trillion, or roughly 20% of the current MBG budget.

“The main problem with MBG is not its objective, but its design. The program is too big, too fast, and too centralized. As a result, the benefits received by children are far from optimal,” Tira said.