David Cameron yesterday voiced fears that the Oxfordshire countryside could become a "museum" as farmers were forced out of business by supermarket giants.

The Tory leader said he was worried farmers in his Witney constituency were under pressure from the bargaining powers of firms like Tesco, which has seen its half-year profits rise 10.3 per cent to £1.09bn in the six months to August 26.

Asked about the latest profits, Mr Cameron said: "They have done incredibly well, there's no doubt, and you have to take your hat off to the spirit of enterprise that they have shown.

"Of course I have worries and concerns. I have a constituency with many people in farming, and I think we always need to be wary.

"We should always be asking the question: Are farmers getting a fair deal from supermarkets? Can farmers do more to come together and make sure they get good prices from supermarket?

"I want Britain to go on farming. I want the countryside to be a living, working countryside and not a museum. So I do have worries."

Mr Cameron said in an interview for GMTV that Conservatives would look at the concerns of farmers and retailers under threat from the major chains.

But he added: "We also have to recognise that people choose where to go and shop. This is the sort of thing that in our policy review we have to try and balance up.

"On the one hand there is that commitment to free enterprise and free choice, but on the other hand we do care about what's happening in our high streets.

"We don't want Britain just to become a whole series of identikit high streets, and in many cases they are doing just that."

His concerns were echoed by farmers and independent food traders in his Witney constituency.

Farmer Colin Dawes, who runs Foxbury Farm in Brize Norton, said: "If we go on supplying supermarkets the way we are at the moment the countryside will become a museum.

"Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda are becoming so powerful they have captured the market. The only way we can carry on is by selling our own produce on site. I would not have a farm without a farm shop, it is as simple as that. The farm shop now runs the farm, if we can't sell it through the farm shop we don't sell it."

Donald Baker, managing director of Bakers Butchers in Witney, said when he started the business in 1981 there were eight independent butchers in town, where today there were only two.

He said: "I agree with David Cameron. He is quite right in what he says. I can see farms going and town centres gradually disappearing or being exactly the same.

"We have only survived by providing good quality meat, good customer service and being in a good location."

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy told reporters at a press conference: "When a Tesco store opens, shops around it do better rather than worse."