A Nigerian man based in the United States of America has built what has been adjudged as the biggest yam barn in Abia State.

The yam barn sits on a two-plot property, housing approximately 12,000 yam tubers and about 4,000 yam seedlings. It is located in Amaibo Isuikwuato, the home town of the barn owner, Mazi Prej Iroegbu, who told News Express that he is “proudly a born-and-raised local farmer” with a passion for yam cultivation.

He said in an exclusive interview: “For over 25 years, I have lived and worked between Nigeria and the United States, building a career in the food and hospitality industry. I am proudly a born-and-raised local farmer, rooted in the land and committed to sharing its story through food.

“I’ve been a farmer since I was a little child. My father was trained at the Nunya Farm Settlement, and when he returned to our village in Amaibo, Isuikwuato, he established our family’s farming tradition. Everything we achieved—our schooling and university education—was funded through the proceeds of farming.

“As I grew older, I chose to continue that lineage. Today, I farm cassava and other crops, but my deepest passion is for yams, a crop that represents heritage, sustenance, and pride for our people.

“I have been cultivating yams for over six years now.”

Mazi Prej Iroegbu’s yam barn was recently declared the biggest in Abia State – and perhaps the South-East – by the Isuikwuato Consultative Forum (ICF), sponsors of Isuikwuato Agriculture Revolution Program (ISAREP), which crowned him with the traditional Igbo title Eze Ji, meaning King of Yam.