KKP Prepares Thousands Of Fisheries Cooperatives For Free Nutrition Food Menu Supply

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has pocketed data on a number of business units in the fisheries sector to support the Free Nutrition Food (MBG) program. It is known that President Prabowo Subianto's flagship program will be run in 2025 and is proposed to contain menus originating from the sea.

Director General of Strengthening the Competitiveness of Marine Products and Fisheries of the KKP Budi Sulistiyo said the data covers nearly 3,000 micro to medium scale businesses.

"We have also identified, recorded. We will submit this database and distribute it between agencies related to fisheries cooperatives that can become partners in the implementation of Free Nutrition Food," Budi said on the Bincang Bahari agenda at the KKP office, Jakarta, Monday, November 11.

"So, we got it according to our records, 2,802 micro-scale business units, 69 small business units and 13 medium-sized business units," he continued.

Not only that, Budi emphasized that his party helped strengthen the fisheries cooperative in order to participate in the supply chain of the MBG program. Strengthening is also carried out in cooperatives and MSMEs so that they can stimulate the community's economy, especially in the fisheries and marine sectors.

"Until now, the KKP has collaborated with the Ministry of Cooperatives, the Cooperatives Service and all of them to help foster. So, this cooperative activity is getting stronger and supports the community's economic movement related to fisheries processing, be it capture fisheries, cultivation fisheries, processing and marketing," he said.

Budi emphasized that the business unit data could be shared with other ministries and institutions in an effort to increase the involvement of fishery MSMEs for the MBG program.

"We will distribute these data to the relevant ministries in order to support the MBG program," he said.

Furthermore, Budi revealed that his party had increased efforts to introduce the fish menu in Free Nutritional Food, including conducting trials at a number of points.

"First, through a pilot food or serving to school children. Then pregnant women in posyandu and toddlers," he said.

According to Budi, the data regarding cooperative and MSME business units is an inseparable part in supporting the implementation of MBG in the future.

"These are the things we present and provide to support the smooth running of this program," he concluded.