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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Head of the National Nutrition Agency Dadan Hindayana claimed that the Free Nutritious Meal program can help address poverty by opening up new job opportunities. He conveyed this during a meeting with the Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, October 31, 2024.
Dadan explained that each service unit would be led by 3 officials of the National Nutrition Agency and oversee dozens of residents employed as cooks and dishwashers. He estimated that each service unit could employ 30-47 locals.
However, according to him, the number of local residents employed in each service unit would vary depending on the availability of technology. “In areas with a high unemployment rate, we will not use technology, such as a washing machine, (because) it would eliminate 16 working people,” said Dadan.
Dadan said dishwashers are needed because the National Nutrition Agency will use stainless steel containers to deliver meals to schools, so they need to be washed to be reusable. He also mentioned a trial carried out at Warung Kiara, Sukabumi, West Java, where residents working as dishwashers could earn additional income.
“In Sukabumi, on average, adult people earn less than Rp1 million, but when working at the service unit as a dishwasher, they can earn Rp2 million. This helps eliminate poverty,” said Dadan.
In his inauguration speech, President Prabowo Subianto linked poverty to nutrition issues. “Do we realize that the poverty rate in Indonesia remains high? Do we realize that many of our people and children are undernourished?” he said on Sunday, October 20, at the Parliament Building, Jakarta.
Economist at UPN Veteran Jakarta, Achmad Nur Hidayat, said that the free nutritious meal program can indeed help alleviate the burden of poor families. However, this does not immediately solve structural poverty. He believed that the government should focus more on economic system reforms, expanding social security, increasing investment in productive sectors, and empowering the community’s economy.
“The focus of this program does not reflect the comprehensive steps needed to eradicate poverty in the long term,” Achmad told Tempo on Sunday, October 20.
Vedro Imanuel G contributed to the writing of this article.
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