CIRAD and AFD at SIA 2026, celebrating the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists

Event 27 January 2026
CIRAD and AFD Group will again be at the Paris International Agricultural Show (SIA), from 21 February to 1 March at Paris Expo – Porte de Versailles (Hall 5, aisle B, stand 33). Their joint stand, on the topic of "Pastoralism, a living asset for the planet", will be raising awareness of the importance of rangelands and pastoralism for food security, the economy, the environment and our cultural heritage. The programme includes a VR immersive exhibition, a conference on Monday 23 February, and several side events from 25 February onwards.
Farmer herding domestic buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in rangelands liable to flooding in Kandal province, Cambodia © M. de Garine-Wichatitsky

Farmer herding domestic buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in rangelands liable to flooding in Kandal province, Cambodia © M. de Garine-Wichatitsky

The essentials 

  • Pastoralism provides a living for millions of people worldwide and plays an essential role in guaranteeing food security and preserving biodiversity. 
  • Pastoral systems are now under threat: with increasingly frequent droughts and flooding, ecosystems are deteriorating and pastoralists face a greater risk of poverty and livestock losses.
  • At SIA 2026, the joint AFD Group-CIRAD stand will take the general public to meet pastoralists from across the world, via an original VR immersive exhibition, games and tasting sessions.
  • Experts from the two organisations will be taking part in a number of events to promote the importance of pastoralism and call for better knowledge of and support for pastoralists. 

Pastoralism provides a living for more than 500 million people worldwide. It is found on every latitude, from the polar circles to the Equator, notably in Africa, where it plays a central role in food security. More than 268 million people in 36 African countries depend on it for a living. In West Africa, it provides 65% of beef and 75% of milk. In mainland France, 35 000 livestock farms, or 18% of the total, practise pastoral systems. However, their role is not sufficiently taken into account in global talks.

Pastoralism is a living treasure for the planet, which feeds more than 200 million families worldwide. It has substantial capacity to preserve biodiversity and adapt to climate change. Recognising and supporting pastoralists is an investment in the future. We now need suitable public policies and tools to guarantee pastoralists' mobility, and we must support these very vulnerable communities' access to markets and basic social services.
Guillaume Duteurtre
Head of the SELMET (Livestock Systems and Animal Products Management) joint research unit , CIRAD

Pastoralists are on the frontline as regards climate change. Droughts, flooding and other events mean that their environment and livelihoods are under threat, despite the fact that they play a crucial role in food security for hundreds of millions of people. AFD is supporting operations to improve the economic and ecological performance of livestock systems by funding projects to make pastoralists and agro-pastoralists more resilient, from Kenya to Chad and more broadly across West Africa. This is as much a question of climate justice as of development.
Matthieu Le Grix
Head, Agriculture and Rural Development Division, AFD

CIRAD experts presented the issues surrounding pastoralism and the main events scheduled for this international year at an online media briefing (replay available).

A conference and a series of side events

During the Show, there will also be a conference and a series of side events (in French) about pastoralism and its links with food systems, climate change and the agroecological transition in particular.

The full programme is available here.

A VR video exhibition

Transhumance 360°, an immersive exhibition taking visitors right to the heart of pastoralism, will be presented for the first time at SIA, on the AFD Group-CIRAD stand. The exhibition allows visitors to discover pastoral systems worldwide, through five VR films accessible via VR headsets, with five interviews with pastoralists. 

Transhumance 360 exhibition

This immersive experience will enable the public to accompany pastoralists from Argentina, France, Mongolia, Senegal and Chad during transhumance. 

Numerous research projects

Through a number of research projects worldwide, CIRAD and AFD are committed to supporting a move towards greater sustainability and better livelihoods within pastoral systems.
Several of those projects will be presented on the stand at SIA 2026:

  • PAOLAO, a project providing technical support for implementation of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) dairy strategy, coordinated by RAAF (ECOWAS Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food); 
  • CaSSECS, tools and references to quantify the impact of livestock production on climate change and supporting the drafting of appropriate livestock policies in six Sahelian countries, funded by the EU DeSIRA programme;
  • PRAPS 2, to increase the resilience of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in certain target areas in the Sahel region, a project funded by the World Bank;
  • PEPISAO II, a two-part project: one to facilitate dialogue on the issues surrounding pastoralism in cross-border territories; the other to strengthen the Regional Transhumance Observatory in West Africa; 
  • ACCEPT, aimed at boosting the resilience of crop and livestock farmers in Chad against a backdrop of mobility and climate change, a project funded by the EU DeSIRA programme;
  • Santés & Territoires, an R&D project implemented by CIRAD with funding from AFD, to promote the One Health approach within territorial management operations in Senegal, Benin and Cambodia; 
  • TERRAMAZ, to help territories in the Amazon roll out policies to combat deforestation in Brazil in particular; 
  • Regional Livestock Program Horn of Africa, to help pastoralism adapt to climate change in Kenya-Somalia-Ethiopia-Somaliland, with financial support from AFD; 
  • One Limpopo One Health, a project aiming to improve co-existence between humans, livestock and nature by means of participatory initiatives involving the One Health approach;
  • SASI SPI, a project including studies of the contribution of agro-silvo-pastoral systems to food systems in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.

Institutional meetings for CIRAD

SIA is also an opportunity for CIRAD to consolidate its institutional partnerships and sign new agreements. Various events are planned during the event, which journalists may register to attend:

  • Signing of a framework agreement with the Hérault Chamber of Agriculture, Monday 23 February, afternoon
  • Signing of a framework agreement with FranceAgriMer, Tuesday 24 February, afternoon
  • Signing of projects with the Guadeloupe Regional Council, Thursday 26 February
  • Also: annual symposium of the French agricultural innovation and transfer networks (RITA), co-headed by CIRAD, ACTA and the Chambers of Agriculture – France, Friday 27 February, morning, Hall 7, on the topic of how digital data and tools can benefit farming systems in overseas regions.

For further information and to register, contact presse@cirad.fr

See also