Businessman creates seed marketplace to expand access to medical cannabis treatment

The publicist Luiz Borsato found in cannabis the relief for constant pain in the spine. And in search of more economical and effective ways for its treatment, he went in search of judicial authorization to produce his own medicine. However, early in the practice of planting, he felt a lack of quality seeds and provenance, with improved genetics that would guarantee the cannabinoids he needed. There Netseeds was born (www.netseeds.shop), a seed marketplace dedicated to Brazilian autocultivators, a market still little known, but that already moves millions with the sale of products for the cultivation of cannabis in the homes of patients.

Owner of an advertising agency in the interior of the state with 23 years of activity, important clients in areas such as agribusiness and education and annual billing in the house of R$ 50 million, Borsato touched the two businesses in parallel for some time but soon decided to follow his instinct and devote himself fully to providing medical treatment with cannabis for Brazilians.

“We represent in Brazil 9 seed brands from some of the main genetic banks in the United States, Netherlands and Spain, where the main breeders in the world are today. Each plant has its improved characteristics related to both the flowering process and the production and content of therapeutic substances”, explains the entrepreneur.

Its audience in the marketplace are more than 5 thousand cultivators who, like him, have judicial authorization to grow in Brazil. “Our motto is 'to cultivate is for everyone’ and with this we want to show that those who make use of cannabinoid medicine have the freedom to plant their own medicine, with quality, safely and legally”, explains Borsato.

Before founding Netseeds in May 2024, the entrepreneur was already investing in the international cannabis market, gathering equity interests in companies in the sector in exchanges in the United States and Canada. Faced with the opportunity to establish himself in Spain, a country without restrictions and with legal certainty for the legal cannabis market, Borsato chose to keep its operations outside the country and serve the Brazilian market and Latin American neighboring countries directly from Barcelona.

In addition to serving patients in self-cultivation, Borsato maintains dialogues with patient associations and research institutions in Brazil, which face challenges in obtaining high-quality, traceable genetic material.“Brazilian researchers often find themselves limited to material seized by authorities, without reliable genetic information, which affects scientific development and delays the discovery of new possibilities for treatment with the plant.For patient associations, quality genetics represents the opportunity for increased productivity and efficiency”, notes Borsato.

The global demand for medical cannabis seeds moved in 2023 the figure of US$ 404.62 million. For 2031 the projected turnover is US$ 1.212 billion, an average annual growth of 14.7%. Borsato highlights the potential of Brazil to become a leader in this sector and also become the largest seed producer for the planting of cannabis, as in the example of other agricultural crops.“O Paraguay, neighbor to Brazil, already exports industrial hemp and cannabis flowers for different purposes.