Statutory farm insurance · France · national
Mandatory if…
MSA is the compulsory social security scheme for French agriculture: it handles health, pension, accident and family benefits for farmers and farm employees in one place. It works through local MSA funds, with the Caisse centrale de la MSA (CCMSA) in Bobigny as its central body. It collects social contributions from farm operators (chef d'exploitation) and also collects the VIVEA training contribution.
Compulsory: anyone running a farm in France is affiliated to MSA as a farm operator (chef d'exploitation) if they reach the minimum activity level (AMA, Code rural L722-5). Any one of these is enough: (1) the farmed area is at least 1 SMA (surface minimale d'assujettissement — set for each department by prefectoral order), (2) for activities not measured by area, at least 1,200 working hours a year, or (3) professional income reaches the minimum set by decree (according to MSA, 800 times the hourly SMIC). Below the AMA but with at least 1/4 SMA or 150 hours a year, you pay a solidarity contribution as a 'cotisant de solidarité' (L731-23). The SMA is set by departmental order, so ask your local MSA for the exact threshold.
A farmer's contributions depend on professional income (health, pension, family benefits, accident, training, CSG/CRDS); from 2026 a new contribution base and scale apply, and you can choose the previous year's (N-1) income instead of the three-year average. The solidarity contribution is 14% of professional income. MSA publishes the rates each year (Barème des cotisations 2026); payment is in several instalments or monthly.
Fee basis: turnover-based
For information only, not legal advice. Mandatory membership is set by local law — each profile lists its source.