A name that's been part of New Zealand agriculture for a very long time, the Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry, is now officially consigned to the past.
From Monday, MAF becomes the Ministry for Primary Industries.
It's the result of Food Safety and Fisheries merging into MAF, bringing all the Government primary industry bodies under one umbrella.
Director-General Wayne McNee says the merger and restructuring process that brought the Food Safety Authority and the Fisheries Ministry back into the fold is now finished.
Mr McNee says the restructuring process has cost 240 positions, mostly in corporate areas, but the mergers that created the Primary Industries Ministry will save more than $20 million a year out of a $400 million operating budget.
Primary Industries Minister David Carter adopted his new title after last year's election.
The ministry's name in Te Reo is Manatu Ahu Matua.
