Bardia : Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today declared Bardiya district as the model district for cooperatives and also handed over the management of various small farmers co-operatives.

The district has been declared so as the Small Farmers Agriculture Cooperatives Ltd services covered the whole of the rural areas of the district.

Although the Prime Minister was scheduled to attend the programme, he could not make it there due to bad weather but made the announcement of the district as the model cooperatives district over phone.

The PM announced the handover of the management to the programme jointly organised by the Small Framers Agriculture Cooperatives Ltd, Bardiya and the Small Framers Cooperatives Institutions Mainapokhar, Padnaha, Deudhakala and Dhodhari, in Rajapur today.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Oli said the need of the day was to attain self-reliance through the maximum participation of women in the cooperatives movement.

The management of the cooperatives looked after by the Small Farmers Cooperatives Association were handed over to the 16 small farmers cooperatives institutions in 16 VDCs in the district.