# First-mile traceability > First-mile traceability is the ability to link a volume of an agricultural commodity to the specific farmers and plots that produced it, through harvest, collection and aggregation up to the first processing or export point. It is the foundation of deforestation, legality and social due diligence. Also known as: farm-level traceability, traceability to plot, origin traceability, first-mile data ## Why does it matter? Most deforestation and human rights risk sits at the first mile, where [smallholders](/glossary/smallholder/) sell to collectors, [cooperatives](/glossary/cooperative/) and buying stations. Buyers several tiers away cannot manage what they cannot see. The [EUDR](/glossary/eudr/), certification standards and national programmes all depend on data created there. ## How does it work in practice? 1. **Register** farmers and plots in a [farmer registry](/glossary/farmer-registry/), with consent and a unique identifier. 2. **Map** plots with [geolocation](/glossary/geolocation/) and assess them. 3. **Record transactions** at purchase: who sold, how much, when, from which plots. 4. **Track aggregation** through collection, warehousing and transport, using a [chain of custody](/glossary/chain-of-custody/) model such as [segregation](/glossary/segregation/). 5. **Reconcile** volumes against plot production capacity to detect anomalies. 6. **Share** the data with buyers and authorities, under agreed access rules. ## Common pitfalls - **Paper and cash transactions** that break the link between farmer and volume. - **Intermediaries** outside any system, and [side-selling](/glossary/side-selling/) across buyers. - **Duplicated registries**: each buyer re-registering the same farmers. - **Connectivity**: tools that fail without network coverage. Farmer1st is the first-mile infrastructure built around farmers: a farmer-controlled network where companies, governments and organisations collect, verify and share origin data. See [traceability and certification](/services/traceability-certification/). ## Frequently asked questions ### How is first-mile traceability different from supply chain traceability? Supply chain traceability often starts at the exporter or processor, where documents and systems are mature. The first mile covers farmers, collectors and cooperatives, where transactions are small, often in cash and on paper, and where most EUDR evidence originates. ### Does the EUDR require traceability to the plot? The EUDR requires the geolocation of all plots that produced the commodities in a product. In practice this requires linking volumes to plots, either through segregated flows or through controls that ensure only verified plots are declared. ## Sources - [Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (EUDR), EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1115/oj/eng) - [OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains](https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-fao-guidance-for-responsible-agricultural-supply-chains_9789264251052-en.html) - [FAO, Digital agriculture](https://www.fao.org/digital-agriculture/en/)