An Oxfordshire farmers' leader has called for an initiative to put locally produced food on supermarket shelves.

David Orpwood, chairman of the National Farmers Union Oxfordshire branch, said people should be able to buy produce in shops which was clearly labelled as having come from a nearby farm.

David OrpwoodMr Orpwood was speaking after meeting Richard Wheeler, from the National Trust, to discuss what the trust has described as its "vision for the future of farming".

"We both strongly believe there could and should be a local food initiative. Everyone is talking about it, but no-one is doing anything," said Mr Orpwood.

"It would start in a small way, but we would try to build up so we can have locally produced food on the supermarket shelves."

The National Trust, which is the country's largest non-Government landowner and conservation organisation, has come up with proposals to give farmers a viable future, and to regain the public confidence.

The trust has urged Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for the new Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to put "sustainable" farming at the centre of the Government's rural agenda. It wants subsidies to help farmers process, market and sell their produce locally.

Other proposals include a radical overhaul of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy - transferring subsidies from food production to conservation.

The National Trust also wants more "environmentally friendly" food production.