Heaptalk, Jakarta — Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE), Erick Thohir, and Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana, held a strategic meeting to accelerate Indonesia’s food self-sufficiency agenda through a collaboration centered on nutritional support and sustainable food distribution.
Highlighting the importance of synergy, Erick underscored the role of SOE in implementing President Prabowo Subianto’s free nutritious meal initiative. “I fully support the synergy between the Ministry of SOEs, state-owned enterprises, and the National Nutrition Agency in advancing food self-sufficiency,” Erick stated.
A key proposal discussed was the establishment of Nutritional Service Units (SP) to provide nutritious meals to communities nationwide. Each SP is expected to serve around 3,000 participants with free, healthy meals once a day, five days a week.
“This initiative has already shown promise in a pilot project conducted in Magelang, which demonstrated its potential for improving community nutrition,” Erick remarked, expressing full support for the program. He emphasized that the success of the SPs relies on an integrated ecosystem powered by state-owned enterprises.
Erick noted that achieving sustainable food distribution and self-sufficiency across Indonesia will require an investment of approximately Rp3 billion to Rp5 billion for each SP, sourced from the state budget (APBN) in collaboration with state-owned enterprises and other agencies such as the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), as well as contributions from Village-Owned Enterprises and private sector partners. Each SP will need an operational budget of around Rp11 billion annually, with costs varying by region due to differing logistical expenses.
The SP initiative will also collaborate with crucial state-owned enterprises within the food cluster, including Bulog, RNI, and PTPN, to create a robust and integrated support network. Erick emphasized the critical role of SOEs in building this food ecosystem: “With robust collaboration, we can ensure equitable and sustainable access to nutritious food across Indonesia. ”
The meeting included directors from various SOE companies, including PLN, whose CEO, Darmawan Prasodjo, expressed the company’s full support for the initiative. He noted that PLN’s commitment aligns with its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles, which focus on empowering and strengthening food security.
One of PLN’s initiatives, Electrifying Agriculture, was recently launched at a pilot site in the Food Estate area in Merauke, South Papua. This program aims to boost agricultural productivity by incorporating electric-powered technology, enhance food production, and increase farmers’ incomes.
“Electrifying Agriculture is an innovation that leverages electricity in agricultural sectors such as farming, fisheries, plantations, and livestock, designed to increase productivity and operational efficiency for farmers. PLN’s support in the agricultural sector will contribute to long-term food independence,” Darmawan concluded.
