A map can place many farms close to a mill while concealing how grain actually reaches it. Rivers, road conditions, local trading patterns and collection arrangements may create a different commercial geography. The purchasing map should describe the journey of the crop, not simply the distance between two points.
Start with actual routes
Ask suppliers how they normally move their produce and where they make selling decisions. The answer may reveal an established collection point outside the apparent catchment area. Understanding those routes helps the processor decide whether to buy directly, work with an aggregator or establish a new service that solves a genuine transport problem.
Recognise relationships
A nearby producer may already have commitments or prefer an existing buyer's payment routine. Geographic proximity does not make their crop available. Procurement planning should account for those relationships and the practical reasons behind them. That produces a more realistic view of accessible supply than treating all surrounding production as an untapped resource waiting for the mill.
Test one route
Before expanding a collection network, follow a representative delivery through loading, travel, receiving and payment. The exercise can reveal costs that a map misses, including small transfers or repeated waiting. It also shows who performs each task and which part of the journey a new arrangement would improve or complicate.
Build a commercial catchment
For Maktoum–Sarveshwar's Senegal programme, distribution and processing are connected through real movements of product. A useful catchment model combines route evidence with supplier conversations and delivery history. It can evolve as relationships develop, while keeping the distinction between nearby agriculture and dependable procurement clear to the people planning the plant's intake and working capital.
