Local milk for local schools?

Promoting food security by linking school milk programs (SMPs) with dairy industry development in Indonesia

Research team

Nunung Nuryartono (Indonesia)
Risti Permani (Australia)

This study investigates an independent or student-funded school milk programs in Indonesia. To our knowledge, this study is set to be the first study on developing ‘independent’ school feeding programs. The choice of Indonesia as a case study is ideal. As in other developing countries, hunger and malnutrition remains a pressing issue and unfortunately, school feeding programs have been inactive for a number of years. There is, however, a model of student-funded school milk programs that we think have potential to be replicated in other parts of Indonesia and other developing countries. In Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia, 368 schools out of 1,602 primary schools in the region participated in a school milk program initiated by a smallholder-initiated dairy cooperative and processor, namely Makmur Agro Satwa (MAS).

To solve the issue of endogenous program participation, the study uses distance between MAS and the school as an instrument. When accounting for this endogeneity, school milk program participation is found to have an impact of height-for-age and weight-for-age z-scores. The regularity of the program that is ensured by a contract between the school and the producer (i.e. MAS) may play a role in explaining this significant impact. Looking at student’s Willingness-to-Pay (WTP), this study observes that most students are willing to pay between Rp 2,000 and Rp 2,500 a week (or between US$0.20 and US$0.25 a week). Student’s socio-economic background and parental milk consumption behaviour are significantly associated with students’ WTP. The average of students’ WTP can indicate rationale for public and private intervention.

In conclusion, the study has been able to identify the impacts of school milk programs on participating school-aged children in Sukabumi considering nutrional and academic objectives of the programs. It has also been able to identify students' Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) that is important to assess strategies to develop the school milk programs.

Working paper

Risti Permani, Nunung Nuryartono, Fikria Ulfa Wardani, Triana Anggraenie, January 2015, ‘Local milk for local schools?’ Children dairy consumption behaviours, willingness to pay and academic performance in Indonesia.