6 months on, is Prabowo's free meals programme living up to its lofty promises?

CNA

12 hours ago

JAKARTA: Dewi could only let out a long sigh and watch in silence as a white van pulled up to the elementary school just down the road from her house in the southern outskirts of Jakarta, delivering packed lunch for some 300 students as part of President Prabowo Subianto's free meals initiative.
As workers unloaded dozens of steel food containers packed with rice, vegetables and chicken nuggets, the 50-year-old - who has been running a small catering business from the lower half of her modest two-storey house for the last two decades - could not help feeling a little bit jealous and disappointed.
'Prabowo promised the (free meals) programme would not only improve children's health but also benefit SMEs (small and medium enterprises) like mine,' Dewi, who asked CNA not to reveal her full name, said. 'But the way this programme has been implemented, it will only benefit big players with money.'
Before the free meals programme was rolled out on Jan 6, Dewi tried applying with the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to be one of its partnering kitchens.
But the requirements set by the agency, formed in August last year specifically to oversee the programme, was well beyond her reach.
Her kitchen was spotless and well-ventilated. But to qualify, Dewi said that she would need to tear out her ceramic counters and replace them with stainless steel tables.
Wooden shelves that line the kitchen would have to go, replaced by industrial-grade cabinetry. The floor, too, would need a makeover as the agency requires it to be coated in glossy, seamless epoxy.
And then came the final, crushing condition: Her kitchen needs to be big enough to prepare a minimum of 3,500 meals a day. For a caterer specialising in small weddings and gatherings, Dewi would need to expand her kitchen to at least three times its current size.
'I estimated that I would need 300 to 500 million rupiah (US$18,000 to US$30,000) to make the necessary changes. I don't have that kind of money,' she said.
The free meals initiative has been Prabowo's signature programme, enabling him to secure last year's presidential election by a landslide. It hopes to provide one meal daily to around 83 million children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
Indonesia also hopes to create 30,000 kitchens, employing up to 1.5 million cooks, delivery drivers, nutritionists, food inspectors and supervisors.
But six months into the programme, the high-profile initiative has inadvertently created a slew of problems and raised questions whether it can fulfil its promises of not only filling the stomachs of Indonesians, but also creating more jobs and uplifting small businesses and the economy.
MISSING THE MARK
First, the programme's lofty targets comes with a price tag of around US$7 billion annually once it is in full swing.
Along with Prabowo's other ambitious programmes, such as plans to build three million houses for the poor annually, Indonesia could see a government deficit of US$37 billion - or 2.53 per cent of the GDP - by the end of 2025.
These massive expenditures are among the reasons why Indonesia is struggling to provide meaningful stimulus to revive its economy which was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate the effects of a potential global trade war.
'Just exactly how much (economic) impact does this free meals programme really have? I am not convinced that it is creating that many jobs, particularly if we compare it to how much is being earmarked for the programme,' Acuviarta Kartabi, an economist from West Java's Pasundan University, told CNA.
Bhima Yudhistira, executive director of Jakarta-based think-tank Centre for Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), added that vendors who previously sold food inside or near schools have 'suddenly lost their livelihoods' after the free meals programme was rolled out.
'Then there are issues like the influx of food waste and cases of food poisoning which the government needs to address,' he told CNA.
Second, the government is still far from reaching the goal of 83 million beneficiaries.
According to the BGN, as of Jun 29, the programme has reached only 5.5 million children across the vast archipelago and one of the key reasons is the lack of partnering kitchens. Of the 30,000 kitchens needed to achieve its goals, only 1,800 are operational.
'There are too many requirements to be a partner for the free meals programme. The government argues that the requirements are there to ensure efficiency and hygiene but it inadvertently alienates small business players,' Bhima said.
With very few parties able to meet the requirements, the BGN turned to foundations and institutions with money to build such kitchens from the ground up, regardless of their experience in the culinary world.
Among them are the Indonesian National Police and the Indonesian Armed Forces which operate 109 and 70 kitchens in various police and military facilities across the country respectively. The police are building 100 more kitchens while the military is setting up at least 400 more.
The BGN is also cooperating with two of Indonesia's biggest Muslim organisations: Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, both of which agreed to build hundreds of kitchens in their boarding schools, universities and other facilities.
The rest are small foundations, including those which are chaired or founded by politicians and businessmen who supported the Prabowo ticket during the 2024 election. Each of these organisations can run up to 10 kitchens and serve more than 100 schools.
Economist Acuviarta questioned why the nutrition agency is not involving local communities in preparing the meals.
'The involvement of the military and police does not contribute to the local economy or the creation of jobs. Meanwhile, consumption went from benefiting hawkers and cafeteria vendors (around a school) to profiting foundations from outside the area,' he said.
'So the programme is not creating new economic opportunities, it is merely shifting them from one side to the other.'
Public health expert Dicky Budiman of Jakarta's Yarsi University also questioned why the government is not letting schools and locals be involved in preparing their own meals.
'(Locals') sense of ownership (towards the programme) is missing because the involvement of local stakeholders like schools and parents are minimal,' he told CNA.
Dicky argued that since their children also attend the nearby schools, locals would take greater care of the food prepared for the programme. Getting parents involved also encourages them to be mindful of what they are feeding their children at home.
'There will be synergy between what children consume at school and at home,' he said.
The public health expert also questioned BGN requirements, which he said is too focused on the physical aspect of a kitchen and not the competence of those who run it.
Dicky highlighted that since the initiative began, there have been 17 reported cases of food poisoning related to the free meals programme affecting more than 1,300 children. The latest case occurred in May in the Jakarta suburbs of Bogor, when 223 students fell ill after consuming food tainted with harmful bacteria.
'I think it is time for reform and evaluation of every step of the (programme's) supply chain. There needs to be steps to make sure that a food product meets safety standards and those preparing them are certified,' he said.
The Prabowo administration has acknowledged these issues and promised to introduce changes so the programme runs more efficiently and achieve its intended goals of improving children's health while at the same time, stimulating local economies.
BGN chief Dadan Hindayana told CNA that the agency has taken steps to prevent cases of food poisoning from happening again, such as tightening its standard operating procedures (SOP) and setting up a system where anyone can report food safety violations and other grievances.
Dadan said his office is also reviewing its kitchen requirements so that SMEs 'will be more involved'.
Indonesia's coordinating minister for food security Zulkifli Hasan confirmed this, saying that privately-run partner kitchens would not be the only ones to prepare meals for the programme moving forward.
'We may use kitchens inside schools. All possibilities are being considered so the target of 80 million (beneficiaries) are achieved,' he said on Jun 26 as quoted by Tempo news portal.
Getting schools involved also allows the government to slash costs down from the initial estimate of 171 trillion rupiah per year to 121 trillion rupiah annually.
FAIR PRICES AND INCENTIVES NEEDED
Since it was rolled out, BGN officials have been touting the free meals initiative as a driver of local economic growth.
'One kitchen is managing between 8 and 10 billion rupiah in funds (per year) which can stimulate a region's economic potentials and productivity,' BGN chief Dadan said in a statement on Jun 17.
The programme has so far created 68,000 jobs, he added. Aside from white collar nutritionists and supervisors which the BGN hired directly, the majority are women between the age of 30 and 50 who are being employed as cooks by the kitchens.
'They were once housewives with no income (of their own) and they now earn 2 million rupiah a month,' the BGN chief said.
Dadan also pointed at the programme's 'circular economy' benefits: Food waste turned into animal feed, used cooking oil repurposed into soap and wax, and claimed that each kitchen supports producers of at least 15 different food items.
But some local officials are telling a different story.
'We are very hopeful that (the programme) will not only improve school children's nutrition but also develop and empower local farmers and SMEs. We have even mapped out all the agricultural potentials surrounding a given kitchen,' said Gin Gin Ginanjar, chief of the Bandung city food security and agriculture agency.
'(But) to this day (the programme) has not empowered local farmers or others in the city of Bandung. We hope in the future we will be given the opportunity (to provide produce for the programme).'
Muhlis Wahyudi, secretary-general of the Indonesian Poultry Farmers Association echoed the sentiment, adding that only a handful of some 20,000 traditional farmers under the association are benefiting from the programme.
'The big companies can easily offer (to sell chicken) at a much cheaper price. Without any protection we would definitely lose (a bidding process to supply chicken for the free meals scheme),' he told CNA.
Muhlis added that major poultry companies are able to keep their prices low because they have the means to buy essentials like feeds and supplements in bulk and acquire cutting edge technology such as automatic feed hoppers and artificial intelligence-powered cameras and sensors to detect when a chicken is sick and need to be isolated from the rest of the population.
'Big companies and traditional farmers are like container trucks and rickshaws. Even their winds are enough to topple us over,' he said.
BGN chief Dadan, however, denied that traditional farmers are not benefiting from the programme.
'BGN is buying ingredients at market price. We are prioritising local products,' he told CNA.
Meanwhile, dairy farmers are facing a different set of challenges.
Although demand for milk is increasing because of the programme, milk importers stand to make the most profit as small-scale local milk producers are struggling to ramp up output to meet government targets.
'If (Indonesia) wants to increase production there needs to be (government) support,' Dedi Setiadi, chairman of the Indonesian Union of Milk Cooperatives, told CNA.
Dedi said the majority of milk producers in Indonesia are small dairy farmers with five to 10 cows kept in makeshift barns in their backyard. 'It is not like the Netherlands where farmers can own vast pastures where their cows can roam free,' he said.
To boost output, traditional farmers need access to affordable feed and supplements as well as soft loans to upgrade and expand their barns and purchase more cows.
BGN chief Dadan said the government is trying to keep dairy imports to a minimum. 'Milk will only become compulsory (to be included in the programme) in areas with milk producers. We are encouraging all areas to develop their own milk farms,' he told CNA.
A CHANCE TO COURSE CORRECT
Experts argue that many of the programme's current woes stemmed from the fact that it was launched just two months after Prabowo was sworn in as president on Oct 20, and four months after the BGN was established on Aug 15, 2024.
This leaves little time for the nutrition agency to formulate proper technical requirements and SOPs as well as build a system to monitor food quality and supply chains.
'Food producers, logistics companies and caterers also needed time to boost production, meet requirements and make their products and services competitively priced compared to their big corporation rivals,' CELIOS director Bhima said.
Economist Acuviarta said the government should have started small, piloting the programme in schools in remote regions and poor neighbourhoods.
'Not every child is undernourished. Not every parent struggles to give their children proper food,' he said.
'Instead of staging test runs in remote and underdeveloped regions, the programme is being rolled out on a massive scale in urban areas.'
Education expert Cecep Darmawan agreed that the programme need s to be scaled back and focused on regions in need like East Nusa Tenggara which has the highest prevalence of stunting or Papua where 26 per cent of its population live below the poverty line.
Right-sizing the project, he argued, could free up billions of dollars in state coffers which are needed elsewhere.
'Right now there is a huge disparity between schools in different areas. There are schools which have good facilities but in another area, there are schools which are on the brink of collapsing,' he told CNA.
Similarly, health expert Dicky also said the government needs to take its time in implementing the programme. The expert highlighted that the previous administration also needed years to perfect a similar programme to provide nutritious meals to thousands of pregnant women and toddlers to prevent stunting.
'It took time to identify the problem, come up with a solution, anticipate issues which may arise and train volunteers to execute the programme,' he said of the stunting prevention programme which started in 2015. 'The programme was also constantly reviewed by independent experts which allowed for improvements to be made.'
Dicky said if done right, the free meals initiative could improve children's health as well as academic performance as numerous studies in other countries which have similar programmes have shown.