By: Pongki Surtaman Anwar (*
The government continues to roll out various strategic policies to encourage inclusive and sustainable economic growth. One of the leading initiatives initiated is the Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG), which not only aims to improve people’s welfare but also drives the national economy, especially in the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector. This program is believed to have great potential in creating economic equality, strengthening food security, and increasing people’s purchasing power.
The Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Hashim Djojohadikusumo, emphasized that the additional budget for the MBG Program will have a significant impact on national economic growth. This program is designed to meet the nutritional needs of millions of Indonesians, which will directly drive the local economy.
In its implementation, MBG will involve various economic sectors, especially the food and agriculture sectors, by making MSMEs the main partners in providing nutritious food. With this scheme, business actors in various regions will gain wider market access, create new jobs, and increase their business productivity. Providing food for 82 million beneficiaries every day will certainly require a large supply of food ingredients, which will simultaneously encourage the growth of upstream and downstream industries.
Furthermore, Hashim emphasized that this program is an economic potential that must be utilized by Indonesia. With the support of the right policies, MBG can be a strategic instrument in realizing economic equality throughout Indonesia, including in remote areas that have so far been difficult to reach by national economic policies.
From the perspective of MSMEs, the MBG Program opens up great opportunities for small entrepreneurs to contribute to the national supply chain. Muhammad Arbani, Founder of Our MSME Organization, assessed that through MBG, economic growth of 8% is not impossible to achieve, considering the large scale of the program and its impact on the MSME sector.
Arbani added that the government has prepared the best strategy to ensure the involvement of MSMEs in this program, starting from socialization to incentive policies that support their participation. This reflects the government’s commitment to empowering MSMEs as the main pillar of national economic growth. With market certainty from the MBG program, MSMEs can be more confident in increasing production capacity, improving product quality, and expanding their distribution networks.
Support for MSMEs in the MBG program also has a broad domino effect, including increasing household income, increasing the number of new entrepreneurs, and increasing the competitiveness of local products. Thus, MBG is not only a social program, but also an economic stimulus that provides sustainable benefits for the wider community.
Although the economic growth target of 8% still needs time to be achieved, the projection of Indonesia’s economic growth in 2025 which is in the range of 4.97% to 5.2% shows good economic stability and greater opportunities for growth. This was conveyed by an economist from the University of Indonesia, Fithra Faisah Hastiadi, who also highlighted the importance of budget reallocation for more productive policies such as the MBG Program.
According to his calculations, this program can provide an additional impact of around 0.3% to 0.4% on national economic growth. This means that MBG not only has direct benefits for aid recipients, but also provides a positive boost to the economy as a whole. With proper budget reallocation, the government can ensure that this program operates efficiently and provides maximum benefits for the community and related economic sectors.
In addition, the MBG Program will also increase national food security by strengthening domestic production and reducing dependence on food imports. Thus, this policy is in line with the government’s vision of creating economic independence and improving people’s welfare in a sustainable manner.
The Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG) is not just a social initiative, but an economic strategy designed to have a broad impact on the national economy. Through support for MSMEs, strengthening the local economy, and increasing food security, MBG has great potential in driving inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
The government has shown its commitment to ensuring that this program runs well and provides maximum benefits to the community. Therefore, support is needed from all elements of the nation, including the business world, academics, and the general public, to jointly make the implementation of MBG a success.
With confidence ayment to the government in implementing this policy, we can be optimistic that the MBG Program will become one of the important pillars in driving national economic growth and improving the welfare of the Indonesian people.
(* The author is an economic and government observer from the Surya Kencana Institute
