“Community participation will help ensure the availability of raw materials as the number of Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) increases,” BGN Deputy Head Sony Sanjaya said in a statement on Tuesday.
He conveyed the message during the forum “Strengthening Community Participation in the MBG Program Through Cross-Sector Supply Chain,” held in Tangerang, Banten, on Monday.
Sanjaya said more than fifteen thousand SPPGs, or MBG kitchens, have been established nationwide, and demand for several commodities such as vegetables, eggs, and fruit has started to rise in certain regions, leading to shortages and higher prices.
He noted that community involvement is essential to maintain supply stability, including through home gardening or urban farming.
“Urban farming or growing crops at home can be part of the solution so that regions do not rely too heavily on long distribution chains,” he said.
He added that the approach would be more effective if guided by regional governments, which can map village-level potential for producing vegetables, fruit, and protein sources such as chicken or catfish.
"One village can focus on growing carrots, while another village grows bananas or raises layer or broiler chickens," he said.
Such steps, he said, allow regions to have buffers in meeting the needs of MBG kitchens that continue to increase.
BGN spokesperson Dian Fatwa noted that cross-sector efforts are key to strengthening the local supply chain.
"This forum emphasized the need for close collaboration among the community, micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) players, and regional governments to ensure the sustainability of the nutritious food supply in the MBG program," she remarked.
The MBG program was launched on January 6, 2025, as one of the priority programs of President Prabowo Subianto, aimed at improving the nutritional status of children under five, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and schoolchildren up to the high school level.
With a target of reaching 82.9 million beneficiaries across Indonesia, the program is one of the largest programs implemented in the country.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti, Raka Adji
Editor: Primayanti
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