BGN boss 'shows off' money turnover thanks to MBG in West Java reaches Rp6 trillion per month

Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana. ANTARA/HO-BGN/am.

JAKARTA - Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana said that the turnover of funds thanks to the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Program reached Rp. 6 trillion per month in West Java (Jabar).

Dadan explained that the design of the MBG Program is indeed aimed at creating economic circulation in the region through a distribution scheme for the budget that goes directly to the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit (SPPG).

"In West Java there are already 6,200 SPPG. This means that around Rp. 6 trillion per month of circulating money in the region is only from this program," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, April 29.

Dadan said that with a total budget of Rp. 268 trillion, the MBG Program is one of the largest fiscal interventions that directly touch the community down to the local level.

"We channel the funds directly to the regions through virtual accounts at each SPPG. Around Rp. 248-249 trillion flows down and is spent in the regions," he said.

According to Dadan, this scheme makes SPPG a new center of economic activity in the region, where each unit manages a budget of around IDR 1 billion per month, with most of the funds being used to purchase food raw materials from the surrounding community.

He added that around 70 percent of the SPPG budget was allocated for the purchase of raw materials, 95 percent of which were local agricultural, livestock, and fishery products.

"This means that the MBG Program is synonymous with local food self-sufficiency, because almost all needs are supplied from within the region," he said.

In addition, the large-scale flow of funds has begun to have a chain effect on the local economy. Demand for agricultural commodities has increased, product prices have become more stable, and production activities at the level of farmers and small business actors have also been encouraged.

The MBG program, according to Dadan, also contributes to social and economic indicators. BGN noted a trend of declining poverty and unemployment rates in a number of regions, as well as narrowing economic inequality.

"We have received reports from several regions, the gini ratio (inequality index) has begun to narrow, the poverty rate has decreased, and unemployment has also decreased because of the money circulating in the community," he said.