To explore issues/needs/concerns/priorities of livestock keepers  in the  region with focus on  evolving  a collective strategy  based  on  the  extensive work that has been done on Deccani sheep by a range of institutions in the area, with experience at the grassroots, at the level of policy and in technology. The initiative is primarily aimed to develop  an   integrated sheep development program spread across the four states of, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, home to approximately 37 million Deccani sheep 
 
 
The ultimate objective of  the network is  to improve returns to pastoralists in these states through enhanced productivity of sheep and improved interface with markets as well as to engage policy makers in the development of policies that are more supportive of sheep pastoralism in the Deccan.