Food, Farming and Countryside Commission

What Food, Farming and Countryside Commission does

The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission (FFCC) is an independent UK charitable organisation, established in April 2020 with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation as its core funder. FFCC runs policy research, citizen deliberation, and advocacy programmes on food systems, farming transitions, land use, and the countryside, working across all four UK nations with dedicated directors in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland and place-based initiatives in regions including Cornwall, Yorkshire, Liverpool/Merseyside, Cumbria, Cambridgeshire, and Devon. Its core programmes are The Food Strategy (anchored by The Food Conversation, described as the largest ever deliberation on food, and the Citizen Advisory Council that advises DEFRA on the government's Good Food Cycle), Farming Futures (just transition for farmers and rural communities), and the Land Use Framework (a policy blueprint whose pilot findings were integrated into the UK Government's Land Use Framework published March 2026). FFCC produces a substantial publications library including The False Economy of Big Food (quantifying Britain's unhealthy food system at £268 billion annually), Paying the Price, A Citizen Mandate for Change, From the Ground Up, and the Multifunctional Land Use Framework Report, alongside films and the podcast We Need To Talk About Farming.

The underlying technology is non-existent in the commercial sense; FFCC's 'platform' is its citizen deliberation methodology, stakeholder convening infrastructure, and a media footprint across a website, Mailchimp newsletter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Bluesky. Its revenue model is grant-funded charitable income with two main streams: core funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and targeted grants such as the £460,000+ from The National Lottery Community Fund for The Nature Service in Wales; FFCC also receives funding and collaborative support from government, notably DEFRA. There is no product, pricing model, or paywall; all reports, webinars, podcasts, and events are freely accessible (some with registration). FFCC operates with a small team of approximately 10-12 named staff plus commissioners and academic advisers, and is a time-limited charity with a current three-year strategic plan running 2026-2029.

Name

Food, Farming and Countryside Commission

Legal name

The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission

Website

https://ffcc.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission is a UK-based independent charity that conducts research, citizen deliberation, and policy advocacy on food systems, farming transitions, and land use, serving government, policymakers, farmers, and citizens across all four UK nations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research and Advocacy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA), Social & Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for Nutrition (BPADAJAK)

Keywords

• Food policy research
• Farming advocacy
• Land use policy
• Citizen deliberation
• Sustainable food systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Exeter

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable foundation grants: FFCC is a time-limited charity supported primarily by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation as core funder, with additional support from National Lottery Community Fund for specific initiatives.
2. Collaborative partnerships with government: FFCC receives funding and collaborates with government bodies including DEFRA on the Good Food Cycle, working as an advisory and research partner rather than a vendor.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

FFCC is an independent UK charity that convenes government, civil society, farmers, academics and citizens to develop evidence-based policy recommendations on food systems, farming and land use. It runs three core programs — The Food Strategy (including The Food Conversation and Citizen Advisory Council), Farming Futures, and the Land Use Framework — alongside research reports, films, podcasts, webinars and policy events. All outputs are delivered for free to influence government policy across the four UK nations.

Product overview

FFCC is a time-limited charitable commission that does not offer a commercial product. Its work consists of research programs, policy advocacy, citizen engagement initiatives, and published reports. The core programs include The Food Strategy (encompassing The Food Conversation and Citizen Advisory Council), Farming Futures, and the Land Use Framework advocacy. FFCC also produces publications, films, podcasts, and hosts events and webinars to drive change in food, farming and countryside policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Food Strategy programme A policy and citizen-engagement programme comprising The Food Conversation (the largest ever deliberation on what people want from food), the Citizen Advisory Council (advising DEFRA on the Good Food Cycle), and the What Works Here Inquiries feeding place-based evidence into national food strategy. Audience: UK government, policymakers, civil society and citizens.
• Farming Futures programme Examines how farming can work for climate, nature and health, exploring pathways for a just transition for farmers and rural communities. Includes work on regenerative farming (Groundswell session with Climate Minister Katie White OBE) and farmer networks such as GrowIN in Northern Ireland. Audience: farmers, government and rural stakeholders.
• Land Use Framework programme Advocacy and pilot work for a national Land Use Framework to meet the UK's climate, biodiversity, food and housing policy goals with limited land. Includes pilots in Cambridgeshire and Devon, plus a "Delivering the Land Use Framework" webinar series. Audience: government policymakers at national, regional and local levels.
• Research reports and publications Series of policy research reports covering the political economy of food systems (including the £268 billion annual cost of Britain's unhealthy food system), farming transitions, multifunctional land use, and citizen deliberations. Audience: policymakers, parliamentarians, civil society, academics and the public. All reports are freely downloadable.
• Films and podcast series Audio-visual media exploring citizen perspectives on food systems, including the podcast 'We Need To Talk About Farming' (farming transitions), 'Pod Bites' (short-form episodes with partners), and a film collection showing how citizens are changing food. Audience: general public and policy stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• FFCC reports have generated significant media coverage and been cited by politicians in parliament
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Food FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025FFCC collaborates with The Food Foundation on the Citizen Advisory Council, established in May 2025 to work with DEFRA on shaping the Good Food Cycle. Together they released new polling on public attitudes to food policy and produced the 'From the Ground Up' report. Joint initiatives include Pod Bites podcast episodes.
• DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025FFCC works with DEFRA to shape the Good Food Cycle, a food strategy for England. The Citizen Advisory Council was established specifically to advise DEFRA, and FFCC's Chief Exec Sue Pritchard speaks at Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum policy conferences on behalf of DEFRA initiatives.
• FarmEDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC partnered with FarmED for its 2026 Groundswell session on regenerative farming at the heart of climate action, featuring Climate Minister Katie White OBE and Climate Outreach's Rachael Orr, chaired by Sue Pritchard.
• Sustainable Food CornwallminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC partnered with Sustainable Food Cornwall for the What Works Here Inquiry in Cornwall. Matthew Thomson, Director of Sustainable Food Cornwall, helped convene the Cornish inquiry and contributed to the 'From the Ground Up' report.
• Feeding LiverpoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC partnered with Feeding Liverpool for the What Works Here Inquiry in Liverpool and Merseyside. Director Keenan Humble participated in the 'At the Table' webinar discussing citizen priorities and the Good Food Cycle.
• Open University in WalesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC collaborates with Open University in Wales on The Nature Service initiative, exploring how young people's participation in nature-based experience can be recognized and supported into further learning and employment.
• Royal Agricultural UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC Chief Executive Sue Pritchard is an independent Governor at Royal Agricultural University, and FFCC works with RAU on agricultural research and policy.
• Foundation for Common LandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC Commissioner Professor Julia Aglionby serves as Executive Director of Foundation for Common Land, and FFCC runs initiatives including the Upland Farmer Toolkit and Land and Nature Skills Service in Cumbria working with common land and upland farmers.
• RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC originated from an independent inquiry hosted at the RSA. The RSA continues to be an affiliated organization, with FFCC publications and roundtables sometimes held at RSA venues.
• Academic AdvisersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC has a network of Academic Advisers including Professor Tim Lang (City University of London), Professor Ian Bateman OBE (University of Exeter), Professor Tim Benton (University of Leeds), Professor Janet Dwyer OBE (University of Gloucestershire), and others who contribute research expertise.
• Nature Service Wales PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFFCC is developing The Nature Service / Y Gwasanaeth Natur in Wales working with partners across the country to build a national website and directory for nature restoration opportunities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Food Foundation: UK food policy charity that influences government action on food through research, public campaigns, and the Children's Future Food Inquiry. FFCC co-runs the Citizen Advisory Council with The Food Foundation, making it a direct operational peer on UK food system advocacy.
• IPES-Food (International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems): International expert panel producing influential reports on the political economy of food systems. FFCC's 'Political Economy of Food' and 'False Economy of Big Food' reports mirror IPES-Food's analytic framing of power and concentration in food systems.
• Sustain (the alliance for better food and farming): UK alliance of ~100 organizations working on food and farming policy, including sugar reduction, children's food, and farming transition. Overlaps directly with FFCC's food system reform and land use agendas through civil society advocacy in Westminster.

Emerging players

• Nature Friendly Farming Network: UK farmer-led network advocating regenerative and nature-friendly farming, including transition support and policy work. Operational complement to FFCC's Farming Futures on the farmer-side ground game.
• Compassion in World Farming: International NGO campaigning for farm animal welfare and food system reform. Operates in adjacent space to FFCC's Farming Futures program, with overlapping UK policy advocacy on agricultural transition.
• Soil Association: UK charity focused on organic farming, sustainable food, and land use, including certification programs and policy advocacy. Overlaps with FFCC's Farming Futures and land use agenda but operates programs directly rather than as a commission.
• Centre for Food Policy (City, University of London): Academic centre producing independent food policy research and home to a leading UK food policy MSc. Several FFCC team members are alumni, and the Centre intersects FFCC's evidence base and policy translation work.

Broad incumbents

• RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce): UK fellowship and ideas organization originally hosted FFCC's inquiry from 2017–2020 and continues as an affiliated venue partner. RSA runs broader social and economic policy programs, of which FFCC was a spin-out focused exclusively on food and land.
• New Economics Foundation (NEF): UK think tank focused on economic inequality, climate, and well-being. FFCC's Chief Impact Officer previously led policy research there, and both produce economic-justice framing of food and environmental systems.
• Chatham House — Energy, Environment and Resources programme: Global affairs think tank with a food and land use research stream including trade, sustainability, and policy. Comparable as a high-credibility independent producer of evidence-based food and agricultural policy research with government influence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ffc_commission
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCd8Rk1AhCFaxNPQW-vUAO3g
• Facebookfacebook.com/The-RSA-Food-Farming-and-Countryside-Commission-102248788116283
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/food-farming-and-countryside-commission
• Instagraminstagram.com/ffc_commission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Food, Farming and Countryside Commission