JAKARTA: The government is working on a regulation that would synchronise various ministries’ authorities for the free nutritious meal programme to prevent overlapping duties for a more complete enactment of the initiative while also mitigating any impacts.
The plan was announced by Coordinating Food Minister Zulkifli Hasan during a press briefing at his office in Jakarta on Monday (March 3). The new regulation, either in the form of a presidential instruction (Inpres) or presidential regulation (Perpres), will define the responsibilities and roles of each institution to prevent uncertainty and overlap in the coordination because “the National Nutrition Agency [BGN] cannot work alone”, the senior minister said.
Among the ministries involved are the Defense Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, the Home Ministry and the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry. Since its launch in January, the free meals programme has been mostly led by the BGN, working with other ministries and institutions in setting up designated kitchens for daily meal production.
Under the new regulation, the initiative would take a more comprehensive approach, including in the preparations for the larger and region-specific supply chain. “For example, the supply chain will be managed and coordinated between ports across regions and handled by regional administrations working together with relevant ministries,” Zulkifli said.
The minister also suggested that ingredients for the distributed meal packages could vary by region, such as chicken for Java, fish for Sumatra and other local ingredients for regions in the eastern part of the country.
The new policy would also address further impacts of the initiative, including the environmental effects of large-scale food provision. But Zulkifli stopped short of detailing the potential environmental impact from the free meal disbursement.
After the first two months, the free meal initiative is expected to cost Rp 2 trillion (US$121 million) per day, according to Zulkifli. He also conveyed his confidence that the programme would be able to reach 82.9 million recipients by the end of 2025.
BGN head Dadan Hindayana confirmed on Tuesday to The Jakarta Post that the Rp 2 trillion budget would be used to serve 6 million recipients every day. The figure increased from the previous daily allocation of Rp 1 trillion (US$60.5 trillion) for three million recipients.
The plan for the new regulation surfaced following reports of issues in the first months of the free meals programme. The latest incidents involved the discovery of raw chicken in a meal package given to a student at an elementary school in East Sumba regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Feb. 19.
Dadan said that authorities would evaluate the officials and kitchens, officially called Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG), that produced and distributed the meal. He said the error occurred because staff members in the SPPG were not yet accustomed to the process.
“We have instructed staff [to cook] in small quantities during the start of the programme. From around 100 to 150 meals per day, the number will be gradually increased to 500 to 700 portions, until ultimately, they can cook 1,000 meals per day,” Dadan said.
As the country enters the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, authorities will launch a different scheme for the free meals programme as most students will fast from dawn to sunset. Adjustments will be made to the menu as well as food packaging.
For the menu, each meal package will include non-perishable food such as packaged milk, eggs, dates and bread. Each food item will be packaged in separate plastic and distributed in a bag.
Dadan previously suggested that students could either take their meals home or eat them “discreetly” at school to show respect for those observing the fast.
The Ramadan scheme would kick off on Thursday after schools reopen. The government previously declared a holiday for school students on the first week of Ramadan from Feb. 27 to March 5.
Some regions with a notable number of non-Muslims will see business as usual for the free meals programme rollout. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
