Ichsan Ali, Jakarta – To implement the free nutritious meal program, the National Nutrition Agency requires 90,000 university graduates to be placed at 30,000 nutrition service units across Indonesia, an official said on Tuesday.

The Deputy for Systems and Governance at the National Nutrition Agency, Tigor Pangaribuan, said the job openings are also available for recent graduates.

The agency in particular seeks to hire university graduates with degrees in nutrition and accounting, aged between 22 and 30 years.

"There will be one nutritionist per service unit, meaning we need 30,000 nutritionists. Plus, there will also be one accountant – so an accounting graduate at each service unit," Tigor added.

As the program progresses, the free nutritious meal initiative, spearheaded by President Prabowo Subianto, is expected to stimulate the national economy. Currently, the program has established 1,295 nutrition service units across 38 provinces in Indonesia. Once fully operational, 30,000 service units will be needed to reach the target of 82.9 million beneficiaries by 2025.

"The free nutritious meal program can create jobs and open opportunities to purchase agricultural products from villages. It will also encourage and motivate farmers," Tigor explained.

Previously, the government was in the process of drafting a mechanism to increase the budget by Rp 50 trillion ($3 billion) to accelerate the implementation of the free nutritious meal program. The additional funding will be stipulated in a Presidential Regulation currently being prepared by the relevant ministries.

Head of the National Nutrition Agency, Dadan Hindayana, explained that accelerating the Free Nutritious Meal program requires substantial financial support in order to reach more beneficiaries.

"We are currently developing the mechanism. Accelerating the program's implementation certainly requires additional funding," said Dadan on May 9, as quoted by Antara.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/free-nutritious-meal-program-to-create-90000-job