In one of the biggest announcements of the year, the Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are set to merge, creating what many are calling a “super ministry” for primary industries.

The move will see MAF and the Ministry of Fisheries combine, creating a single organisation to represent both.

Following Thursday’s OCR announcement, the government is calling this another step forward for agriculture, increasing efficiency and providing a single voice for our primary industries.

Agriculture Minister David Carter says the move will save around $10million dollars a year and work better with stakeholders such as iwi, and local government on biosecurity and food issues.

Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley says the new organisation will give the fishing and game sector more clout with government, both central and regional.

"It is positive for fishing and agriculture but also the wider primary sector because you’ve got a whole bunch of companies, most of them exporting into the same sort of market with similar products.

"It's often to do with food and it just means we can get a lot more co-ordination within government and be a lot more helpful."

Mr Heatley says New Zealand’s fisheries are in a transitional period and there are some exciting proposals on the table for the future.

Federated Farmers has been calling for such a change in MAF’s structure for some time, with President Don Nicolson understandably excited by the news.

"I know that people say this is history repeating itself, but as i keep saying, we've got to learn from history.

"I think history clearly tells us we're far better off with a Ministry for Forestry, Agriculture and Fishing - in fact a Ministry for primary industry."

MAF says the new ministry, which is yet to be officially named, will be formed in February 2012, to allow time for consultation and legislative changes.