MBG Scheme Has Not Been Changed, Government Examines Special 3T Regional Pattern

JAKARTA - The government has not implemented changes to the recipients of the Free Nutritious Meal Program, including the idea of not providing MBG to the desil group 7 to 10. The implementation of the program is still being evaluated after the change of leadership of the National Nutrition Agency.

Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said the government previously asked for about a month to fix the BGN. The inventory of problems at the institution has been reported to President Prabowo Subianto.

"The process of inventorying the problems that exist in the National Nutrition Agency has been reported to the President," said Prasetyo at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Monday (20/7).

According to Prasetyo, the Coordinating Minister for Food and Agriculture who was appointed as the person in charge asked for additional time to sharpen the program improvement.

The problem of the implementation of MBG has been grouped into a number of clusters. One of them that is being studied is the difference in service patterns between ordinary areas and lagging, leading, and outermost areas or 3T.

Prasetyo said that the scheme that runs in areas with ideal conditions cannot always be applied in the 3T area. The number of recipients, distance, and distribution of locations are the main obstacles.

"If it is a 3T area, it is certainly not appropriate if the implementation of MBG through the mechanism as in non-3T areas," he said.

In the 3T area, the beneficiaries are spread in small groups with a distance. The government therefore asked for a more detailed study before determining the distribution pattern.

"In the 3T areas, it is quite far, spread out, and small, so it is asked to do more detailed exercises," said Prasetyo.

With the study still ongoing, the government has not set when the MBG scheme change, including based on the desil group, will be implemented.