The major occupation of the people in Chettimedu is Groundnut agriculture.
A major drawback of the scheme could be seen from the fact that out of all the all-India claims of Rs 1,623 crores, Gujarat alone received Rs. 792 crores for one single crop, groundnut.
Conakry became the capital of French Guinea in 1904 and prospered as an export port, particularly after a (now closed) railway to Kankan opened the large scale export of groundnut from the interior.
Setting up in the neighbourhood of Dunkerque - third largest port in France for the import of groundnuts after Marseille and Bordeaux - became a natural conclusion.
In the past, Basavanagudi was surrounded by places like Guttahalli, Mavalli, Dasarahalli and other places where groundnut was cultivated.
Agriculture is the main source of income for this village with groundnut and mustard being the main cash-crops.
An important food item is often elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) but this rat is opportunistic and will also feed on crops such as groundnut, maize, sweet potato, cassava and pumpkin.
Oilseeds Research Station was established by the government of Tamil Nadu to evolve groundnut, sesame and castor varieties with desirable attributes viz., short duration, high yield, high oil content, drought tolerance, fresh seed dormancy, resistance to major insect pests and diseases etc.
—Bambara groundnut, Congo goober, hog-peanut, jugo bean, njugumawe (Swahili) (sometimes separated in Voandzeia)