The North Eastern Karnataka (NEK) districts of Koppal and Ballari falling under the Northern Dry Zone is blessed with the red soil and red sandy soils which is most suitable for the cultivation of groundnut crop. Groundnut crop was found to be sown in larger area in these districts as it is drought tolerant and one of the major oilseed crop of the NEK region. The present study was conducted to analyse the costs and returns of groundnut in Koppal and Ballari districts. It was evident from the result that, the Cost C was found to be ₹34,101.80 acre-1 in Koppal whereas it was found to be ₹33,843.76 acre-1 in Ballari district. The gross returns in Koppal and Ballari district was ₹60,000 acre-1 and ₹55,000 acre-1 respectively. The returns per rupee spent over in both the districts at Cost A1, Cost A2, Cost B and Cost C were found to be greater than one indicating the profitability of the crop to the farmers.

Keywords : Cost of Cultivation, Returns, B:C Ratio.