Indonesia Faces Dairy Shortage for Free Meal Program

Urgent Call for Dairy Cattle Imports

The head of Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency (BGN), Dadan Hindayana, has issued an urgent call to businesses to import dairy cattle to support President Prabowo Subianto's ambitious Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG) program. The program aims to provide nutritious meals to needy citizens, but faces a significant challenge in meeting its milk requirements.

Current Dairy Capacity Shortfall

Indonesia currently has approximately 500,000 dairy cattle, but requires about 1.5 million to meet the MBG program's needs. Each program kitchen, or Satuan Pelayanan Pemenuhan Gizi (SPPG), needs 40-50 dairy cows to fulfill its daily requirement of 450 liters of milk. This significant shortfall has prompted BGN to seek private sector participation in importing dairy cattle.

Business Opportunity in Dairy Imports

Dadan Hindayana emphasized that importing dairy cattle would not be a loss-making venture for businesses as the milk produced would be absorbed by the MBG program. He highlighted that importing 500,000 cattle would be a significant economic opportunity as the program guarantees demand for the milk produced.

Implementation Challenges

The BGN chief made this appeal during the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) National Leadership Meeting in Jakarta. While the proposal presents a substantial business opportunity, it also comes with challenges such as logistics of importing cattle, maintaining animal health, and ensuring sustainable dairy farming practices.

Economic and Social Impact

The MBG program is a cornerstone of President Prabowo's social welfare initiatives. By addressing the dairy cattle shortage, the government aims to ensure the program's success, which would have positive impacts on both nutrition outcomes for beneficiaries and the dairy industry through increased demand.