At the request of a large number of exhibitors and organisations from the agricultural machinery industry whose production and distribution activities have been hit hard by today’s public health and economic crisis, the organisers of SIMA have decided to hold the next edition of the show during its historical dates in February 2021 (from Sunday 21 to Thursday 25 February 2021).
This exceptional postponement does not call into question the new long-term ambitions of the show, and more specifically its date positioning in the autumn of even number years. Therefore, in 2022, SIMA will be held as initially planned in November (from Sunday 6 to Thursday 10 November 2022). Maintaining the historical dates to support the sector’s stakeholders In view of the current environment and despite the healthy state of stand space sales recorded to date for the new SIMA, many of SIMA’s exhibitors and partners have requested that the show maintain its historical dates for the next event. This decision comes in response to the expectations voiced and in support of all the actors of the farming world who are today having to deal with an upheaval in their production and distribution cycles. In February 2021, SIMA will provide a major opportunity for the sector to regroup and gather together all of its members so as to rekindle the economic activity of the industry. Unchanged positioning and ambitions SIMA nevertheless continues to display the same ambitions. Its watchword is still that of ‘expertise’, with enhanced content and an even sharper focus on innovation from across the farming world in its widest international dimension.
This new edition will have ‘Tech’ at its very core, with a hub christened ‘SIMA TECH’ comprising: - A shared zone including a central area devoted to talks, workshops and networking, a start-up village and an agricultural robot village by FIRA, - An exhibition zone curating the exhibition’s comprehensive New Technology offering: firms dealing in decision support software, measurement and data collection devices, telematics, farm drones, electronic weather stations and everything to do with onboard electronics.
A programme of talks, workshops and meetings will address four major subjects faced by farmers today: Reducing plant protection products: the health of plants and people; The carbon footprint of crop and livestock farming; More comfortable working conditions, task simplification and workplace safety; Assessment and control of economic and environmental performance.
Moreover, training and employment will be more than ever under the spotlight to help and support fresh talent. A new area, ‘SIMA TALENT’, will be set up in the middle of the show to supply information on the training and education opportunities offered by the sector. Several special features will be laid on aimed at young people with the common theme of ‘Meet our talent’: visitor trails, a job dating forum, etc. Finally, ten video interviews with students or graduates who have since become professionals or training consultants, published before the show, will also aim to strike a chord with young people in search of education opportunities.
Redesigned SIMA Innovation Awards As an internationally acclaimed competition, the SIMA Innovation Awards have, since 1931, paid tribute to the most innovative products, technologies and services presented by SIMA’s exhibitors. Each successive roll of honour reveals underlying trends in how farming machinery is developing, the concerns of users and the responses offered to them by manufacturers and solution suppliers. As a logical consequence of the new positioning of the show, the SIMA Innovation Awards also feature several new developments (the announcement of nominees at the Preview, winners announced at the show, a new judging chairman, a new judging panel and new technology advisers, etc.).
