If you had to identify one place where procurement systems quietly break, it would not be the farm.

It would not be the processing unit.

It would be the collection and aggregation point.

This is where:

• identities blur,

• responsibilities dilute,

• and small shortcuts multiply into large failures.

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Why aggregation feels efficient — and hides risk

Aggregation is celebrated as efficiency:

• larger volumes,

• fewer trips,

• lower costs.

All true.

But aggregation also:

• mixes histories,

• blends behaviours,

• and masks accountability.

Once lots are pooled,

no one remembers exactly where each problem came from.

Efficiency increases.

Learning decreases.

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A milk collection centre near Mahwa

It’s a busy evening.

Milk is coming from multiple villages.

Fat testing is rushed.

One can is slightly sour.

Instead of rejection:

• it is diluted,

• blended,

• and passed through.

No one wants to create conflict at night.

The system survives the day.

It becomes weaker tomorrow.

Aggregation absorbs problems silently — until it can’t.

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Vegetable hubs behave the same way

At a vegetable collection hub:

• tomatoes from five farmers are mixed,

• grades are adjusted later,

• rejections are pooled.

When complaints arise:

• no one knows whose lot caused it,

• everyone feels accused.

Loss becomes collective.

Learning becomes impossible.

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Collection points reward speed, not care

Collection points are high-pressure environments:

• trucks waiting,

• farmers anxious,

• staff overwhelmed.

In such spaces:

• speed is rewarded,

• neatness is sacrificed,

• shortcuts become normal.

Governance must recognise this reality

and design protections around it.

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Identity loss is the real danger

The moment produce loses identity:

• traceability collapses,

• accountability fades,

• and fairness becomes negotiable.

Tags fall off.

Crates get swapped.

Milk cans look identical.

Animals are counted in groups.

Once identity is lost,

every dispute becomes emotional instead of factual.

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Live animals amplify aggregation risk

With live animals:

• stress spreads,

• illness transfers,

• weight changes rapidly.

Holding animals together:

• without rest,

• without water,

• without space,

creates ethical and biological risk simultaneously.

By the time animals move out,

damage is done — quietly.

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“Temporary” spaces create permanent problems

Collection points are often treated as temporary:

“Bas thodi der ke liye hai.”

That thinking is dangerous.

Temporary spaces see:

• the worst hygiene,

• the weakest supervision,

• and the most improvisation.

Yet they often handle the highest volumes.

Governance must treat collection points as critical control points, not stopgaps.

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Technology doesn’t fix aggregation behaviour

Barcodes.

Apps.

Sensors.

All useful.

None effective if:

• tagging is skipped,

• scanning is rushed,

• and exceptions are routine.

Behaviour eats technology for breakfast.

Governance shapes behaviour before tools matter.

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Why farmers distrust aggregation most

Farmers rarely complain about fields or factories.

They complain about:

“Wahin pe sab gadbad hoti hai.”

At the point where:

• they hand over produce,

• lose visibility,

• and lose control.

This is where trust must be strongest —

and often is weakest.

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A simple aggregation governance test

Stand at any collection point and ask:

“If something goes wrong here, can we trace it back calmly — without guessing?”

If the answer is no,

the system is accumulating future conflict.

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Why this chapter matters

Many procurement systems look solid on paper

and fail at the collection point.

Because governance weakens precisely where:

• pressure is highest,

• supervision is thinnest,

• and fatigue is greatest.

This is not accidental.

It is predictable.

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What comes next

If identity is preserved through aggregation,

the next challenge is remembering it.

Traceability is not about records.

It is about memory.

That’s where we go next.