This month marks a significant milestone in the life of the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission (FFCC) as we embark on an ambitious new three-year plan. We are also bidding a fond farewell to Dame Fiona Reynolds as Chair, and warmly welcoming Martin Nye to lead FFCC into its next phase.

New Chapter for the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission

Celebrating Dame Fiona Reynolds

Under Dame Fiona's stewardship, FFCC has made considerable progress on its strategic plan – most recently in helping government develop and launch its Land Use Framework, a landmark achievement for sustainable land management in England. With forty years working on land use policy, and nine years with FFCC, Dame Fiona has been instrumental in shaping the case for smarter, more joined-up land use decision-making. Her commitment makes a lasting mark on policy and practice alike. Happily, Dame Fiona will remain with FFCC as a Commissioner, ensuring we continue to benefit from her extraordinary knowledge, insight and wisdom.

Welcoming Martin Nye

Martin Nye brings to FFCC a wealth of experience spanning business, civil society, and environmental stewardship. He has held chief executive roles across private and public sectors and built a distinguished portfolio of non-executive and chair positions. Most recently, he served as Chair and Trustee of the Soil Association for eight years and currently sits on the Council of the National Trust. Martin lives in Wiltshire, where he supports his wife Victoria in making their family farm more financially and ecologically resilient.

A New Three-Year Strategy

Martin joins at a pivotal moment. FFCC is embarking on an ambitious new three-year plan, tackling the most intractable barriers to food systems transformation head-on. Our work will focus on three strategic priorities:

• Power, politics, and economics. We will challenge the assumptions that limit progress – interrogating the political and economic structures that shape our food systems and identifying the levers for transformative change.
• Citizens, communities, and diverse voices. We will deepen our engagement with farmers, businesses, and communities – especially those whose perspectives are too rarely heard – to show the breadth and depth of public appetite for a better food future.
• Real change in places. Collaborating with partners in places, we will name the barriers – local, regional and national – to transformation, and resource and share the practical, inspiring stories that show another way is possible.

Strengthening the Team

To help deliver this strategy, we are also delighted to welcome Tony Greenham as FFCC's new Chief Impact Officer. Tony brings a rare combination of financial expertise, economic policy insight, and systems thinking. His career spans investment banking, sustainability research, and senior roles at the New Economics Foundation, the Royal Society of Arts, and the British Business Bank. Tony will lead FFCC's work on the political and economic barriers to change – finding and mobilising the resources needed for progress that is both swift and fair.

I’m excited that these new appointments add to the team’s experience, credibility, and ambition to accelerate the transformation our food and farming systems so urgently need.

Sue Pritchard
Chief Executive at the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission