SPACE 2016 was held at the Rennes (France) Exhibition Center from Sept. 13-16. The 30th edition of SPACE reflected the event's strong international dimension by bringing together 1,445 exhibitors including 484 international exhibitors from 42 countries, and 101,963 visitors, including 12,022 international visitors from 120 countries.
The Minister of Animal Resources of Côte d'Ivoire opened the event. Officials from Togo, Guinea and Cameroon’s Minister of Livestock were among the attendees. Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Agriculture, closed the program.
The participation of visitors declined slightly (in 2015: 106,226 visitors, including 15,042 international visitors). The decrease is due to the difficult situation in some sectors and because the event coincided with silage harvesting. There were large delegations from West Africa, Europe and Iran.
SPACE 2016 developed the political dimension of discussions with livestock sector stakeholders. The Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll and others shared their messages with exhibitors and livestock farmers. These visits reinforce SPACE as a platform of expression and discussion to advance the major issues regarding the future of livestock sectors.
This year's event was again marked by innovations that benefit animal production. The 50 Innov'Space award-winners presented at the stands and included five special commendations.
The theme of the Research and Development Village was "Producing for the Future – Climate – Energy – Land Use." Presenters succeeded in getting farmers to embrace the issue of greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon market, by showing them that solutions already exist and can be put to use immediately.
SPACE was again a springboard for employment and international trade, thanks to 300 vacancies at the job-dating events organized by APECITA, and more than 300 B2B meetings organized by Entreprise Europe Network.
The animal presentations (550 cattle and 150 sheep) provided a continuous spectacle in the main ring. The Montbeliarde and the Rouge des Prés breeds were in the spotlight.
The 70 conferences, debates and seminars during the expo gave this year's event a new dimension, as livestock farmers were able to express their needs and expectations, in line with the ambition of the creators of SPACE.
SPACE 2016 developed the political dimension of discussions with livestock sector stakeholders. The Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll and others shared their messages with exhibitors and livestock farmers. These visits reinforce SPACE as a platform of expression and discussion to advance the major issues regarding the future of livestock sectors.
