The elected President Prabowo Subianto has ensured that the state budget can finance a nutritious food and free milk program for school children from 2024 to 2029. According to him, this program is crucial for the nation's future because currently, almost 25 percent of Indonesian children are malnourished. Prabowo noted that 76 countries have implemented similar programs, and Indonesia will be one of them starting this October. He has also conducted pilot projects in several regions with positive results.
In the pilot projects, Prabowo observed increased children's attendance and attention at school and improved their behavior and physical growth. Therefore, he considers this program very strategic. However, Prabowo has yet to decide whether to establish a ministry or a special agency to manage this program, with the main focus being to ensure that the program is targeted and efficient without any leakage.
Previously, based on Prabowo’s presentation in October 2023, he calculated that with the assumption of $1 for one food package, the annual budget for the free lunch program amounted to $ 30 billion. From this budget, Prabowo claims that this program can generate an economic multiplier of 1.5 times and generate additional economic growth of 3%. Prabowo also explained that with the assumption of 377.000 kitchens for this program, with the assumption of 5 workers per kitchen, there will be an additional 1.8 million new jobs from the free lunch program.
Prabowo realizes that the program's implementation must be adapted to the conditions of different regions in Indonesia. For instance, buffalo or goat milk could be used in areas with many buffalo or goats. However, he also acknowledges that eggs might be better than milk in some nutritional aspects and are cheaper.
Therefore, if milk is too expensive in a particular area, Prabowo proposes replacing it with eggs and fish. He emphasizes that this plan must be adapted to the typology and conditions of different regions to ensure the program runs effectively and efficiently.