MBG Program Drives 8 Percent Economic Growth

Jakarta – Founder of the Kami UMKM organization, Muhammad Arbani, expressed his high optimism regarding the potential of the Free Nutritious Meal Program (MBG), which is one of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programs to drive 8% national economic growth.

“Economic growth of 8 percent is not impossible to achieve through the MBG program, but regular mentoring needs to be carried out by all UMKM organizations,” said Arbani.

Furthermore, Arbani emphasized the importance of maintaining the sustainability of the MBG program so that it can be a breath of fresh air for UMKM actors who are massively involved by the government.

“The MBG program must be protected because it can provide fresh air for truly credible UMKMs who are massively involved by the government,” he explained.

Not only the food sector, other supporting variables such as packaging, transportation, the informal worker sector, and the construction of community kitchens are also expected to be affected by the existence of this program. Arbani is optimistic that the domino effect of MBG will empower various economic groups, including UMKM.

“Where this will automatically empower so many economic groups including MSMEs so that it is certain that our economy will grow,” said Arbani.

On the other hand, Arbani is sure that the government has prepared a mature strategy to ensure the involvement of MSMEs in this program.

“Certainly the government already has the best recipe. Starting from the socialization that is carried out to the policies that are made so that MSMEs can join MBG. In terms of data, existing problems and potential problems can be mitigated by the government quickly,” he said.

Arbani hopes that rural economic growth indicators can be a benchmark for the success of the MBG program.

“In terms of economic growth, maybe we have to be patient to see the growth figures moving slowly. The easiest thing is to look at the economic growth indicators in rural areas. That’s why currently, We MSMEs are actively conducting socialization to MSMEs in rural areas that are part of this MBG,” he continued.

With support from various parties and a targeted government strategy, the MBG program is believed to be able to become a driving force for national economic growth of up to 8 percent as expected by the government and MSME actors throughout Indonesia.

As a form of support, the organization We UMKM is committed to continuing to strengthen internal solidarity in order to support this government program. “The point is that this organization is solid in supporting the government for the MBG program, UMKM that are not related to food will also feel the impact.” concluded Arbani.