page_title: East Nusa Tenggara
section_title: Agriculture
hierarchical_section_title: East Nusa Tenggara / Economy / Agriculture
caption_attribution_description: Borassus flabellifer, Palmen (Arecaceae) - Kambodscha/Cambodia, Angkor Wat (Prov. Siem Reap)
context_page_description: East Nusa Tenggara is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the north. It consists of more than 500 islands, with the largest ones being Sumba, Flores, and the western part of Timor; the latter shares a land border with the separate nation of East Timor. The province is sub-divided into 21 regencies and the regency-level city of Kupang, which is the capital and largest city.
  A Christian-majority region, East Nusa Tenggara is the only Indonesian province where Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion. The province has a total area of 47,245.82 km², and the population at the 2010 Census was 4,683,827, which rose to 5,112,760 at the 2015 Census; the latest official estimate in mid 2019 was 5,437,200. Economically, East Nusa Tenggara still remains one of the least developed provinces in Indonesia. It currently focuses on expanding the tourism sector, with the most well-known attractions including Labuan Bajo, Komodo National Park, and Mount Kelimutu.
context_section_description: A main part of the economic  activity in the province is subsistence agriculture. Important local crops include corn and some smallholder plantation crops such as coffee. In some places such as Sumba, the lontar palm (Borassus flabellifer) dominates local agricultural activities and is a very important part of the local economy. In these areas, the lontar palm provides timber and thatching as well as food in the form of fruits, and palm sugar which is obtained by tapping the fruit stems. The sugary sap can be used to make alcoholic drinks. In other parts of the province such as West Manggarai, the sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) has a useful role in the local economy. The degree of mechanisation in agriculture is low. Large animals (buffaloes, horses) are widely used throughout the province.
caption: Lontar palm has high significance in local agricultural.
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