JAKARTA (ANN/THE JAKARTA POST) – Indonesia is at risk of an egg shortage as President Prabowo Subianto’s administration ramps up its flagship free nutritious meal programme, according to the National Nutrition Agency (BGN).
The agency head Dadan Hindayana said the number of beneficiaries was on track to reach its full-scale implementation of 82.9 million beneficiaries by the end of November.
That would translate to a demand of 10,000 tonnes of eggs weekly, an estimated 400,000 tonnes annually.
While currently Indonesia produces an egg surplus of around 200,000 tonnes each year, that figure will not mean much given the potential increase in demand from the free meals programme.
“In a short period, the 200,000-tonne surplus could be wiped out. Without new entrepreneurs entering egg production, we might be forced to limit egg usage in the program,” Dadan warned during a public economic forum attended by President Prabowo on Tuesday.
The government previously viewed the surplus as a potential export commodity to the United States, which has been struggling with supplies amid the H5N1 bird flu infection in that country.
Beyond eggs, the programme is also expected to require 350 kilograms each of chicken meat and fruit, as well as 300 kilograms of vegetables daily, for each nutrition service unit (SPPG) once it reaches full scale by the end of this year.
Since January, the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) has been implementing partnership schemes to support President Prabowo’s free meal initiative, enlisting private restaurants and catering providers to help execute the program.
By March, the agency had established 1,009 SPPG that served meals for 3 million beneficiaries, which incurred a monthly cost of IDR1.1 trillion (USD65.03 million).
That figure is expected to grow to 1,533 SPPG serving 4.59 million people by the end of this month, which would result in higher costs.
To expand coverage in remote areas, the BGN is also developing state-run SPPG, although these facilities are only expected to become operational in August.
The programme’s full rollout will combine both public and privately run kitchens, gradually scaling up to 32,000 SPPG nationwide and targeting 82.9 million recipients, with a projected cost of IDR25 trillion per month.
The government initially allocated IDR71 trillion (USD4.3 billion) for the free meals programme this year, but Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati announced on Thursday that it would receive an additional IDR100 trillion.
Despite the program’s rapid expansion, several of its workers who manage kitchens and oversee food preparation, known as development pioneer graduates (SPPI), claim they have not been compensated since the launch commenced in January.
The BGN’s Dadan attributed the delay to bureaucratic obstacles related to their employment status, which he assured would be resolved in the coming weeks.
Despite their elaborate name, SPPI are classified as government contract employees (PPPK), who are prone to payment delays due to bureaucratic obstacles and the risk of termination whenever an administration shifts its focus.
