From Compassion to Food Sovereignty: Indonesia’s New Model for National Nutrition Policy

By Teguh Anantawikrama
Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) for Technology and Digital Transformation / Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Investor Club / Head of MSMEs Division, HIPPI

UKMDANBURSA.COM  – President Prabowo Subianto’s words — “Even a single incident cannot be tolerated. The scale is enormous, but our commitment is simple: 0% incidents, 100% nutrition.” — were more than a technical directive. It was a moral and strategic statement — that nation-building must never compromise the health and safety of its people.

Today, the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Program has evolved far beyond a social initiative. With 11,900 community kitchens across 38 provinces serving 35.4 million beneficiaries daily — children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers — MBG has become the backbone of Indonesia’s food security transformation.

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A Quiet Revolution in Local Economies
Behind every MBG kitchen lies a thriving ecosystem. The program has directly involved over 1.2 million business actors of all sizes across Indonesia, reshaping local economies from the ground up:
• ~450,000 smallholder farmers and livestock producers supply core ingredients.
• ~280,000 micro and small food enterprises and caterers run the local kitchens.
• ~210,000 micro support businesses handle packaging, sanitation, and transport.
• ~120,000 small-to-medium distributors and cold-chain operators ensure freshness and food safety.
• ~150,000 nutritionists, quality officers, and digital monitoring staff uphold food standards.

Together, they form one of the largest integrated food supply chains in Southeast Asia, spanning over 20 economic sectors — from agriculture and fisheries to logistics, food manufacturing, and digital technology. The program now generates an estimated IDR 125 trillion (USD 7.8 billion) in annual domestic economic activity.

MSMEs: The Engine of Inclusive Growth
The real success of MBG lies not in its scale, but in its structure. Instead of a top-down scheme, the program applies a multi-scale collaborative model where each business tier has a vital role:
• Micro and small enterprises provide ingredients and manpower from local communities.
• Medium enterprises coordinate logistics and manage certified kitchens.
• Large enterprises and state-owned food companies ensure technology integration, cold storage, and quality assurance.

This framework has turned MBG into more than a welfare program — it has become a prototype of inclusive national economy, where the government acts as an ecosystem orchestrator, aligning social responsibility with productivity.

From Food Security to Food Sovereignty
In an age of global uncertainty — marked by food crises, supply chain disruptions, and climate challenges — Indonesia is charting a new path: grassroots food resilience powered by digital integration.

Food sovereignty, in this sense, is not merely about self-sufficiency. It is about a systemic capacity to ensure every citizen has access to safe, nutritious, and sustainable food — every single day. The recognition of 411 regencies and cities maintaining zero food-safety incidents under MBG proves that governance, communities, and businesses can converge around a shared national ethic: “Nutritious food is a right, not charity.”

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On World Food Day 2025, Indonesia demonstrates to the world that food policy can be both compassionate and economically empowering. The MBG program is nurturing not only healthier generations but also a resilient, collaborative food economy — one that thrives on trust, inclusion, and innovation.

True food sovereignty begins at the dining table of every Indonesian child. Through MBG, the nation is not merely feeding its people — it is forging a future that is nourished, dignified, and self-reliant. ***