Jakarta. The free nutritious meal program (MBG) proposed by President Prabowo Subianto is set to launch in January 2025, but concerns over its relatively small budget of Rp 71 trillion ($4.36 billion) and logistics persist.

Director of Public Policy at the Center for Economic and Law Studies (Celios), Media Wahyudi Askar, believes the funds will be sufficient for the program's initial phase, targeting millions of children, including toddlers and pregnant women. However, he stressed that the program's success depends on overcoming challenges in governance, logistics, and beneficiary selection.

"Although the funding is still limited, for the program's kickoff, it may be enough to support several million Indonesian children, including toddlers and pregnant women," Media Wahyudi Askar told Investor Daily TV recently.

Media explained that the program’s main challenges go beyond financing, extending to non-financial aspects such as governance, implementation logistics, and determining the list of beneficiaries to ensure the program reaches its intended targets.

"In practice, this program will involve many stakeholders, from state-owned enterprises and local governments to SMEs and the military," he noted.

Media emphasized the importance of the government accelerating the resolution of non-financial challenges in the coming months and mitigating risks to ensure the effectiveness of the MBG budget.

"This program has good intentions and has been implemented in many other countries. However, the challenge is how to make it effective, efficient, and not create fiscal problems," he added.

Despite the program’s positive intentions, which have seen success in other nations, he cautioned that the real challenge lies in ensuring it operates effectively and efficiently without overburdening the state budget.

The MBG program, a government initiative to improve child nutrition and education, will launch on Jan. 2, 2025. The program has been allocated Rp 71 trillion to feed 15 million children in its first year, with plans to expand to over 80 million recipients by 2029.

President Prabowo's flagship program will provide meals at Rp 10,000 ($0.63) per portion per day—lower than the initially projected Rp 15,000 due to budget constraints. Trials are already underway in schools across Indonesia, involving local farmers and livestock breeders as food suppliers.

The total estimated budget for the MBG initiative over the next several years is expected to reach Rp 400 trillion.