BGN Returns Rp70 Trillion of Free Meal Budget to Prabowo

October 14, 2025 | 09:18 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has returned an unabsorbed budget of Rp70 trillion for the free nutritious meal program to President Prabowo Subianto for the current year. This comes as the agency prepares for significantly higher allocations in the coming years.

"Of the total (budget), Rp99 trillion has been absorbed, while Rp70 trillion is returned to the President of the Republic of Indonesia due to the possibility of it not being absorbed this year," stated Dadan, a BGN official, in an official statement on Monday, October 13, 2025.

The BGN's budget for 2025 was previously allocated at Rp71 trillion, along with a reserve fund of Rp100 trillion.

For the 2026 State Budget, BGN has been allocated a substantial budget ceiling of Rp268 trillion. Additionally, there is a reserve budget of Rp67 trillion, bringing BGN's total budget for the next year to Rp335 trillion.

The agency targets the number of beneficiaries of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program to reach 82.9 million people. According to Dadan, achieving this requires an expenditure of Rp1.2 trillion per day.

Dadan revealed that the budget absorption for the MBG program had only reached Rp26.25 trillion by the second week of October, equivalent to 36.97 percent of the total Rp71 trillion allocation for the year. Specifically, the absorption for the Government Assistance (Banper) component of MBG reached Rp25.99 trillion, or about 45 percent of its Rp51.2 trillion ceiling.

Dadan further explained that the budget absorption rate is directly linked to the number of beneficiaries served through the Nutritious Meal Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) across Indonesia.

"Absorption in BGN is identical to the number of beneficiaries and the number of active SPPGs... With every SPPG established, it means there is Rp1 billion per month absorbed," he said when asked for confirmation on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa admitted to being unaware of the reported return of the Rp70 trillion budget from BGN. He suggested that the funds intended to be returned are likely the Rp100 trillion reserve fund, which he noted has not yet been allocated by the Ministry of Finance and is therefore not yet available.

Purbaya stated that his ministry will prioritize monitoring the absorption of BGN's main Rp71 trillion budget. "The program is good; we should encourage better absorption. This is October, I will monitor it until the end of October," Purbaya said when met by the media at the Ministry of Finance's office on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

Dinda Shabrina contributed to the report

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