Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing the Indonesian Milk Kitchen (Dasi) concept to strengthen milk supply for the Free Nutritional Meals (MBG) program through small-scale milk processing units integrated with MBG kitchens across the regions.The ministry's Director of Livestock Product Downstreaming, Makmun, said the concept was intended to support the absorption of fresh milk produced by local farmers while simultaneously expanding dairy cattle development in various regions of Indonesia.”We call it Dasi, meaning Indonesian Milk Kitchen,” he said at a press conference for Nusantara Milk Day 2026 in Jakarta on Tuesday.He explained that the milk kitchen concept is designed to connect milk processing units with MBG kitchens or Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) in surrounding areas to ensure absorption of farmers' milk.Makmun noted that dairy cattle development has so far been concentrated mainly on Java, meaning regions such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, and Eastern Indonesia still have strong potential for dairy farming.He added that dairy cattle development is no longer dependent on highland areas since technology allows livestock farming to be developed in the lowlands.According to him, the MBG program presents a significant opportunity for the development of national dairy farming, as milk is one of the program’s menu items.Milk absorption through the MBG program is expected to create a stable market for farmers and encourage the development of various local milk processing units.”Previously, our small-scale business partners were lacking in promotion and sales, and we were losing out to our industry counterparts. Now, everything is under government programs, development, and off-takers are already in place,” Makmun remarked.The ministry noted that the current national dairy cattle population is around 540,657, with more than 90 percent owned by smallholder farmers.Meanwhile, domestic milk production currently meets only around 25 percent of national demand, with the remainder supplied through imports.The government continues to encourage improvements in feed quality, animal health, and cattle population growth to gradually reduce reliance on imported milk.“While other countries average more than 30 liters per cow per day, our farmers are still below 20 liters per day. We aim to raise productivity above 20 liters, and eventually to 25 liters per day,” Makmun said.To support demand, the government and private sector imported nearly 15,000 pregnant cows last year.