AN enterprising farmer has used a DEFRA grant to respond to the increasing interest in locally produced food by setting up a website linking consumers across England with the food producers on their doorsteps.

BigBarn.co.uk is the brainchild of Anthony Davison, who got his idea in Warwickshire, and has the dual aims of helping consumers anywhere in the country to shop locally and of boosting the sales of local producers.

Potential buyers log on with their postcode, or with a named village or town, and get a map showing where they can buy local produce, including farms, shops and markets. Those without internet access can telephone BigBarn on 01234 871 005 for a copy of the maps.

"I had been running an arable and vegetable farm for some time but wanted to diversify and get away from driving a tractor," Mr Davison said. "I did an MBA course at Warwick University in 1998 which gave me entrepreneurial skills and taught me about computers. I was staying at a farmhouse in the rural heart of the county and realised there could be a business in linking consumers with local producers and came up with the website idea."

Mr Davison got a Rural Enterprise Grant to help get the project off the ground and from around 1,000 hits a day in 2001, there are now more than 9,000 and he is employing one full-time and three part-time workers to support the business.

He said: "It's impractical for many small farmers and producers to advertise widely themselves, so it's not surprising that so few people know what an amazing array of fresh local produce is available right on their doorsteps. The website provides an easy way for producers to reach their target audience and for consumers to have confidence in knowing where their food has come from."