The creation of a 'Super Ministry' with the merger of MAF and The Ministry of Fisheries has been brought forward to July 1 of this year.

The date of the merger was originally set for early February 2012.

Announcing the earlier start State Services Minister Tony Ryall said MAF had made the recommendation to start earlier to give staff certainty about their  future.

He also said forming a single entity at the beginning of the government’s financial year would cut administration and duplication costs.

Savings from the merger are expected to be in excess of $10millon annually.

Fisheries was part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries until 1995, when it became a single entity.

No decision on a name for the new super ministry has been taken yet.