The new Indonesian government launched an ambitious program on Monday that will feed nearly 90 million pregnant women and children. It is estimated to cost $28 billion by 2029. However, critics have questioned whether the program is affordable.

Free Nutritious Meal is a program that fulfills a promise made by President Prabowo Subito. He was elected to lead this nation last year, with more than 282 million people and the largest economy in Southeast Asia. He said that the program would help to combat stunted growth, which affects 21,5% of Indonesians under the age of five, and increase the income for farmers.

Subianto pledged to increase GDP to 8%, up from the current 5%.

Subianto stated that many children were malnourished in his October inauguration speech. Subianto’s promise to provide milk and free lunches to more than 400,000 school students is part of his longer-term plan to develop Indonesia’s human resources to create a “Golden Indonesian” generation by the year 2045.

Subianto stated, “Too many of my brothers and sisters live below the poverty level, and too many of our school-age children do not have enough clothes or breakfast for school.”

Subianto’s signature program may cost up to 450 trillion Rupiah (28 billion dollars) by the time he finishes his term in 2029. He said that his team had made the calculations necessary to run a program of this magnitude, and “we are capable.”

Dadan Hindayana is the head of the recently formed National Nutrition Agency. He said that the government’s goal is to reach 19.5 million pregnant women and schoolchildren in 2025, with a budget of 71 trillion Rupiah (US$4.3 billion). This will keep the deficit below the 3% GDP limit set by law.

Hindayana estimated that the money could buy 6.7 million tonnes of rice, 1.2 million tons of chicken and beef, 1,000,000 tons of vegetables, fruit, and fish, and 4,000,000 kilolitres of milk.

Budi Arie Setiadi, Minister of Cooperatives, said that nearly 2,000 cooperatives would be participating in the program to provide eggs, vegetables, and rice as well as meat, fish, milk, and other foods.

A truck carrying food was delivered to SD Cilangkap 8, a primary school located in Depok, the Jakarta satellite. The 740 students received rice, stir-fried veggies, tempeh, and stir-fried chicken, as well as oranges.

Hindayana stated, “We will send a group to each school every day to facilitate the distribution of meals to students. The program provides one meal per student, from early childhood education through senior high school. It covers a third of the caloric requirements for children each day, and the government will cover the cost.”

Investors and analysts have criticized the program for its size, its burden on the state economy and finances, and its relationship with industrial lobby groups.

Nailul Huda is a researcher with the Center of Economic and Law Studies. He said that Indonesia’s finances were not strong enough to sustain the program, and this would lead to an increase in national debt.

Huda stated that “the burden on our budget state is too heavy” if the government is required to provide 100% of the targeted recipients. It will also be difficult for Prabowo to achieve his economic growth goal of 8%.

He warned that it could also worsen external balances of payments in the country. The country is already a large importer of beef, dairy products, rice, wheat, and soybeans.

Reni Suwarso, director of the Institute for Democracy, Security and Strategic Studies, stated that the rate of stunting in Indonesia is far below the 14% target reduction by 2024.

According to the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey, the national stunting prevalence was 21.5%, down around 0.8% from the previous year. The United Nations Children’s Fund estimated that one in 12 Indonesian children younger than 5 suffers from low weight while one in five is shorter than normal. Both conditions are caused by malnourishment.

Suwarso stated, “That is so bad that it must be fixed. Child malnutrition has serious consequences. It threatens the health and development of infants, young children throughout this nation.”