Inside SIA 2026: Why This Year’s Paris Agriculture Show Is Unlike Any Other

Paris, February 10, 2026  This morning, organizers of the Salon International de l'Agriculture held their final press conference before the 62nd edition opens February 21. What they unveiled is an event facing unprecedented challenges while maintaining its core mission: connecting France's agricultural producers with the public.

The numbers tell part of the story. SIA 2026 expects 600,000 visitors over nine days at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. More than 1,100 exhibitors will showcase French agriculture across every dimension, livestock, crops, products, regions, and innovations. Around 3,500 animals representing seven species will be present, though notably, not cattle.

That absence shapes this year's edition in ways both practical and symbolic.

The DNC Context

France's cattle breeders made an independent decision not to bring animals to SIA 2026 due to Dermatose Nodulaire Contagieuse (DNC), a contagious bovine skin disease. All 36 French cattle breeds will be represented, but through their breeders and organizations rather than live animals.

"This decision, which the show respects fully, has led us to adapt our preparation," explained SIA director Valérie Le Roy during the press conference. The adaptation includes redesigning Pavilion 1's layout while maintaining three demonstration rings and ensuring cattle breeding organizations have prominent stands to showcase their work, products, and connect with visitors, potentially including live video feeds from actual farms.

The situation is not entirely unprecedented. Poultry has been absent since 2019 due to avian flu risks. But cattle hold particular symbolic weight at an event where farming traditions meet public curiosity.

Côte d'Ivoire Takes Center Stage

The international dimension this year focuses on Côte d'Ivoire, France's top commercial partner in West Africa. The country will occupy a 545-square-meter stand across five thematic spaces in Pavilion 7.1, showcasing its position as the world's leading producer of cacao and cashew nuts.

Beyond trade statistics, the partnership reflects deeper agricultural connections. As SIA president Jérôme Despey noted, "We chose a country that is a friend... It's an honor for the chosen country, an honor for the show to receive them."

The collaboration includes practical exchanges: an Ivorian team will participate in the Hackathon GAIA (February 23-24), where groups develop agricultural technology solutions. Daily cultural animations will feature Ivorian music and dance. A ministerial conference on February 26 will explore "Creativity and Continuous Innovation for Resilient Ivorian Agriculture."

Twelve countries total will have institutional pavilions, with thirty nations represented overall, underlining SIA's role as a global agricultural crossroads.

AGRI'CULTURE: A New Space for Discovery

Perhaps the most distinctive innovation is AGRI'CULTURE, occupying the entire Pavilion 2.2. This cultural space offers visitors multiple ways to engage with agriculture beyond traditional exhibits:

AGRI'CINÉ: A proper cinema with 100 seats showing themed daily programming. Each day focuses on a different topic, farmers (Monday), pastoralism (Tuesday), new agricultural models (Wednesday), transmission (Thursday), climate resilience (Friday), with feature films and documentaries. Monday's programming, for instance, includes Cédric Klapisch's "Ce qui nous lie" alongside short documentaries on women in agriculture, marking 2026 as the International Year of Farmers.

AGRI'CURIOSITÉ: A cabinet of 52 unusual agricultural objects, anatomical animal models, xylotheques (libraries of wood samples), plant pathology specimens, even bull semen storage tubes. "It's part of the show's educational dimension, giving people the possibility to see all this," Le Roy explained.

AGRI'LIBRAIRIE: A bookstore created with Librairie Eyrolles featuring agricultural literature, from technical manuals to narratives about farming life. Authors will conduct signings and readings. Educational games for children make agriculture accessible to young visitors.

AGRI'KIOSQUE: A music pavilion hosting 30-minute performances throughout each day, pastoral music with bells and flutes, regional folklore groups, Ivorian artists, and presentations by France's agricultural confraternities (traditional guilds) in full regalia.

The space represents a deliberate strategy. "We wanted to offer visitors a different way to discover agriculture," Le Roy said, "through objects, films, encounters, perhaps emotions, a moment somewhat different from what we typically offer."

The Professional Component Expands

SIA'PRO, the dedicated professional program running February 23-25 in Pavilion 5.2, introduces its first Observatory of Agricultural Innovation Trends this year. The publication analyzes twelve major developments facing farmers:

• Para-agricultural diversifications (activities beyond core farming)

• Machinery investment rationalization

• Innovative financing sources

• Grape co-product valorization (using grape waste for cosmetics, materials)

• Exotic crop acclimatization (pistachios, bamboo, pomegranates in France)

• Organic agriculture's "third way" evolution

• Biological soil fertility approaches

• Virtual fencing adaptation for French markets

• AI applications for animal welfare

• Digital short-circuit sales platforms

• Collective energy self-consumption models

• Rural mediators (conflict resolution specialists)

Over 30 conferences will address these themes with more than 100 expert speakers. Topics range from "How do I optimize my mechanization costs?" to "Should I continue in organic farming?" to "Can I produce and sell energy directly?"

The professional program complements the broader SIA mission: providing practical solutions alongside public education.

"VENIR C'EST SOUTENIR"

The show's campaign slogan translates as "Coming Means Supporting." It reflects findings from 2025, when 82% of SIA's 600,000+ visitors said they considered their attendance as support for agriculture.

That support takes multiple forms, purchasing products, understanding production realities, simply showing up during difficult times for farming. The cattle breeders' decision not to bring animals paradoxically intensifies this dynamic. Their presence on stands without livestock becomes its own statement about persistence through adversity.

"More than ever, coming to SIA this year means supporting," organizers emphasized. "Supporting the 36 cattle breeds that are part of French livestock farming. Supporting the women and men engaged in this indispensable segment of our agriculture. Supporting this essential gathering for the agricultural world."

Managing Complexity

Behind the programming lies significant logistical adaptation. The venue itself is undergoing renovations, Hall 3 at the heart of the complex is unavailable, requiring complete reorganization of the floor plan. Sectors have been redistributed across remaining pavilions to maintain coherent visitor flow.

Animal welfare protocols remain comprehensive despite reduced numbers. Independent veterinarians monitor conditions continuously. Temperature checks occur three times daily in halls housing animals. Mandatory rest periods ensure six hours minimum of calm overnight. A 24/7 veterinary emergency service ("SOS Véto") operates throughout the nine days.

These operational details might seem mundane, but they reflect SIA's fundamental nature: a massive, complex undertaking that must function smoothly for both exhibitors and visitors while maintaining high standards for animal care, food safety, and public access.

What the Event Represents

SIA occupies a unique position in French public life. It's the country's most-attended annual event, yes. But it's also where urban and rural France encounter each other directly, where Parisian children see sheep being sheared, where farmers meet consumers face-to-face, where regional products find new markets, where agricultural innovations get their public debut.

"For 62 years, the SIA has promoted agriculture in all its diversity, across all its productions, all its sectors," Despey noted. "And that's what visitors will be able to discover from February 21 through March 1, 2026."

The 2026 edition carries particular weight given French agriculture's current pressures, economic volatility, climate adaptation, generational renewal (one-third of farmers reach retirement by 2030), regulatory burden, and international competition. These aren't abstractions for the producers who'll staff exhibition stands; they're daily realities shaping whether farming remains viable.

SIA offers something arguably more valuable than policy debates: human connection. A suburban family tasting cheese from Auvergne creates a relationship with that region. A student discovering precision agriculture equipment gains perspective on farming's technical evolution. A retiree watching horse demonstrations connects with cultural heritage.

These encounters happen quietly, individually, cumulatively. They don't generate headlines like protests would. But they achieve something political manifestations cannot: genuine understanding built through direct experience.

The Test Ahead

Whether this approach succeeds depends partly on factors beyond organizers' control. Will 600,000 people show up despite the cattle absence? Will the new cultural programming resonate? Will professional visitors find the SIA'PRO content valuable enough to justify dedicated attendance days?

The answers emerge starting February 21. What's already clear is that SIA 2026 represents the agricultural event's core bet on its own value proposition: that understanding agriculture requires encountering it, not just reading about it or hearing politicians discuss it.

For international observers and agricultural trade stakeholders, the event offers a window into European farming at an inflection point, adapting to climate change, embracing technology, grappling with economic viability, and seeking to maintain public trust in an era of heightened scrutiny.

Nine days, 1,100 exhibitors, 3,500 animals, 600,000 expected visitors. An entire industry on display, with all its challenges and possibilities.

The doors open in eleven days.