The government is planning to extend facilities under Kisan Credit Card to fisheries and dairy farmers within a week. It will primarily help dairy and fisheries farmers to meet their working capital requirement and they will have the benefit of prime lending sector, an official said. Currently, farmers who own farm land and grow crops can receive credit under Kisan Credit Card. Dairy and fisheries farmers are usually landless and extension of Kisan Credit Card to them would help improve their credit worthiness, he said. Reserve Bank of India has also been asked to amend its existing Kisan Credit Card guidelines to extend cover to dairy and fisheries farmers, the official said. With land under crops remaining stagnant or even contracting due to a number of reasons such as weather uncertainties, rising urbanisation, and falling farm income, it was necessary for the government to encourage shift of farmers to non-crop activity. Interest rate on Kisan Credit Card is only 2-3% while that on loans advanced by other lending institutions begins from 8%, the official said. Apart from planning to bring dairy and fisheries farmers under the purview of Kisan Credit Card, the government is planning to set up a 25-bln-rupee animal husbandry infrastructure development fund to look into ways and means to increase the population and yield of livestock in the country. Last week the government approved setting up a 75-bln-rupee fishery and aquaculture infrastructure development fund. The fund and extending credit to the dairy and fisheries farmers will help the government meet its target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.