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Prabowo reaffirms commitment to free meals program, food self-sufficiency
President Prabowo Subianto has reiterated his commitment to carry out his flagship free meals program immediately and achieve food self-sufficiency by the end of his administration in 2029. The issues were addressed in Prabowo’s first interview with a local news channel after he was sworn into office on Oct. 20.
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Staple food: Farmers plant rice in a paddy field at Lambaro in Aceh on June 28. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto has reiterated his commitment to carry out his flagship free meals program immediately and achieve food self-sufficiency by the end of his administration in 2029. The issues were addressed in Prabowo’s first interview with a local news channel after he was sworn into office on Oct. 20.
In a televised interview with Liputan6 on Sunday, the 73-year-old head of state said providing free lunches for school children was very important for him as it was a significant means to shape the future of the country.
"As a country that has rich [natural resources] we cannot let our people, especially the children, starve," Prabowo said. "I'll be blunt, those who don't agree with this principle should not go near me or join my administration."
The new president has persistently encouraged his cabinet members to have faith in the free meals program, calling it “strategic” for the country's advancement. During the first cabinet meeting last Wednesday, Prabowo stated that any ministers who still harbored doubts about the program could "leave the government" he was leading.
In the Sunday interview, Prabowo said he believed that Indonesia could follow the success story of India, which has managed to provide free meals to their school children for decades despite having lower gross domestic product (GDP) per capita if compared with Indonesia.
Read also: Survey reveals strong public support for Prabowo at 85.3%
He was also confident that the free meals program, an endeavor costing around US$28 million to fulfill nutritional needs for up to 83 million children and pregnant women, could provide economic benefits for farmers and food producers across the country.
