The Department of Labour has come up with a new plan to drastically reduce the number of deaths and injuries in the agriculture industry.

The draft Agriculture Sector Action Plan is part of a governmental grand plan to reduce the toll in the five sectors where most accidents occur, construction, forestry, agriculture, manufacturing and fishing.

But it is the agricultural sector that tops the bad list with one of the highest rates of work-related injury and fatalities in New Zealand.

ACC data shows that between 2005 and 2010, at least 50 per cent of all injuries, and nearly 60 per cent of deaths in agriculture were related to the use of vehicles and machinery, physical and mental health, slips, trips and falls, and animal handling.

The Department say more than 30 organisations have been involved in drafting the plan.