Joseph Mtakwese Made
Minister of Agriculture
Date of Birth: 21/11/1954
Biography: Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, 2000-07; Minister of Agriculture Mechanizaton; Minister of Agriculture, 2009 to date
Commentary: Joseph made his entrance into the cabinet as Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement in 2000 - a highly
sensitive post at the time. He headed the Agricultural Development Authority and knew the land issue well as one of ADA's main responsibilities was
training farmers and implementing rural development programmes. He was
involved in the negotiations for the 1998 agreement on land
redistribution. Unkind colleagues suggest that Made's lack of
critical faculties made him the perfect choice to implement ZANU-PF's
land resettlement programme.
As Minister of Agriculture he has not had an easy time. In February of 2010, faced with another poor harvest, he complained that it is the fault of sanctions that new farmers have not got the capital to farm properly.