We want to walk the full path, with a firm step on each stage, following Machado's verses: “walker there is no path, you make the path as you go”

This book brings together the complete presentations of the IV International Ia ValSe-Food Conference and VII Symposium of Chia-Link Network, held in
the cities of La Plata and Jujuy, Argentina, on November 14 to 18, 2022.
The topics are approached from diverse perspectives such as agronomic and nutritional properties, the content of bio-functional compounds, technological characteristics, and the development of new products from ancestral Latin American crops, responding to the motto Promoting research and innovation in food with valuable Ibero-American seeds.
The presentations are the result of the collaboration and exchange of experiences between the members of the IA ValSe group and the Chia Link
Network, consisting of 50 groups including institutions of the scientific-technological system, researchers, companies, and the industrial/consumer associations from 12 countries.
As we all know, the conservation of biodiversity is essential for food security and nutrition. Nowadays, the world largely relies on a reduced set of staple crops. Consumption of these native foods, along with scientific knowledge, will help to develop local economies and prevent any type of malnutrition and various non-communicable diseases.
Currently, the complex system of relationships demands  interdisciplinary research processes, which draws in a combination of knowledge from differentfields, without taking into account hierarchies or exclusions.
This book concludes another stage in the commitment to encourage the generation of knowledge to incorporate underexploited native crops, with a
high content of nutrients, into the population's diet. 
As well as the strengthened exchange of information between the participants of lA-ValSe Group and the Chia-Link Network.
The Editors