Garissa Township Member of Parliament and former National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale is among the most prominent politicians from North Eastern Kenya.
Just like the ordinary Kenyan, the vocal politician too enjoys a quiet life outside of politics.
While politics may be a lucrative field for one to venture into, there is a necessity to invest and generate wealth for oneself and the family.
In 2019, the Jubilee Party lawmaker gave the country a tour of his mega camel and beef feedlot farms located in Garissa town.
Beef Feedlot
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"In case you are looking for animals with the best beef steak, check into this unique farm," Duale tweeted, sharing numerous photos of livestock from the expansive farm.
In August 2019, the Garissa legislator took time off following the 2019 national census to spend time with livestock.
Duale gave Kenyans a glance of the variety of livestock he rears at the farm, ranging from sheep, goats to cattle.
The farm is divided into multiple stables, where the animals are categorised and fed separately.
The animals reared on the farm after attaining maturity and meeting the required standards are sold for beef.
Camel Farm
On December 22, 2019, Duale shared images of his camel farm located in Libahlow, Balambala Constituency within Garissa County.
"This is the best time for the pastoralist community after the Almighty God opened up the skies, hence plenty of pasture and water to fatten and grow the herd.
"Plenty of fresh milk and meat is found in every homestead," Duale tweeted.
The farm has over 100 she-camel breeds.
Camels are seen as a sign of wealth, blessing, prosperity in the Somali culture and give the owner much respect from the community.
As a member of the pastoralist community, Duale expressed his pride in having to tend to his animals, in line with the traditions of his community.
“A man without a camel is not praised in the afterlife and the death of a man without camels is not news,” Duale tweeted.
The Garissa MP is also the patron of the Pastoralist Parliamentary Caucus.
“I am planning to convert the venture into a fully-fledged dairy farm producing camel milk, meat, yoghurt and ghee. My father was not rich but he owned at least 300 camels. Just like other parts farm coffee and other products, camels are our treasure,” he said.
He took time to explain his passion for camel farming to members of the public, highlighting numerous reasons why it is profitable.
Duale noted that a camel's milk is lower in fat and sugar than cow milk. Camels can go for up to two months without water.
The MP noted that Camel’s don’t start sweating until 41 degrees Celsius and their urine can be as thick as syrup because they retain water.
It is important to note that a camel’s hump does not store water, rather, it stores fat. They also have a double row of long, curly eyelashes to keep out sand and dust.
The animals can drink up to 40 gallons of water at a time. Camels can go for long without water is that their red blood cells are oval-shaped, they flow, rather than clump, when the camel is dehydrated.
