Global Ganja Report

As their name implies, World Breeders is a cannabis seed company with a planetary consciousness. Co-director Gorka Cid Luaces says he is proud of the founders' trajectory from the "underground side" to an enterprise with operations on three continents, and an ambition to "export THC seed worldwide."

The founders are three Spaniards who came up along with the opening of social and political space for cannabis on the Iberian peninsula.

Jon Urriola Rementeria—responsible for seed development, genetics and research—was growing tomatoes for Spanish supermarkets before he switched to hierba with the emergence of the first "cannabis associations" in the País Vasco, Spain's northeast Basque Country. Leandro García Rodriguez handles client and concept development, while Cid Luaces is responsible for overall management of the company. Leandro is originally from Seville, while Jon and Gorka are native to the Basque Country.

Jon and Gorka first came together in GreenFarm Éibar, which was among the first cannabis associations in Euskadi, as the País Vasco is known in the Basque language. They produced flower for the association in a mixed greenhouse and outdoor operation, with the local police informed.

GreenFarm was a member organization of the Federation of Cannabis Users' Associations of Euskadi (EUSFAC) which still today coordinates rules and standards for a sector operating in a kind of legal gray area. These regulations, which won the sector toleration from the authorities, allowed private cultivation for the associations but limited members to two grams per day, to be consumed on club premises. Several associations closed during the pandemic in 2020, as these restrictions became untenable, and the sector never fully recovered. Associations continue to thrive in the regions of Catalonia and Andalusia, but regional authorities in País Vasco cracked down, with some clubs busted and herb confiscated.

By then, GreenFarm veterans Jon and Gorka were moving into the commercial space, anticipating an expanding market for the "recreational" side as policy in several European countries liberalized. World Breeders was registered as a seed company in the Czech Republic in 2019. The third partner came on board—Leandro from Medical Weed Sevilla, one of the first associations in the southern region of Andalusia.

Seeking a suitable country for production, the trio settled on the rising industry player of Colombia. Cannabis had been decriminalized there since 1994, and medical marijuana was legalized in December 2015 by decree of then-president Juan Manuel Santos—who would the following year win the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating peace with the guerillas. Along with the historic peace deal in 2016, Colombia’s Congress that year approved commercial cannabis cultivation under government license.

In 2020 World Breeders set up its mixed indoor/greenhouse production facility in Antioquia, the northwest region of which Medellín is the regional capital. Their first greenhouses were in Guarne, near the mountain town of Rionegro. Production began in January 2021 under the name of a locally registered company with Colombian partners, Zero Point, in compliance with Colombian law. Licensed export of seed to Spain began that year.

The seed stock they'd been working with initially had difficulties adjusting to higher altitude and new, more acidic soil and water conditions. Operations later moved to Ebéjico, on the outskirts of the Medellín metropolitan area, where the altitude is lower and the climate warmer. The Ebéjico facility now employs some 40 people.

Initially, World Breeders was sending out seed in bulk, thousands per shipment, to European cultivators. But it recently rebooted as a seed bank, marketing its genetic creations to specialty growers. "Over the years, we have dedicated ourselves to selecting and developing our own genetics with meticulous attention to details," their website boasts.

The company is currently offering nine strains, with names like Clementine Slush, Fizzy Gum and Pink Truffle. Cid Luaces takes pride in the descriptive accuracy of these appellations. "If we say it tastes like clementine, it really tastes like clementine," he assures.

A recent addition is La Hokuzan, developed in cooperation with Barcelona-based Hidden Group Genetics. The Catalan group had bred its own indica-heavy hybrid Hokuzai, which World Breeders crossed with their own Fizzy Gum for a more "sparkling and fruity" feel.

Most of World Breeders' source genetics come from Europe and the United States, relying heavily on Bubba, one of the OG kush varieties said to have been first bred in Florida some 30 years ago. "However, we’re constantly adding current varieties," Cid Luaces is quick to add.

Just coming online is Pilot, also developed in conjunction with Hidden Group Genetics. This one will bear the imprimatur of Spanish rapper JC Reyes, combining his favorite traits—a three-way cross of Pink Watermelon x Jokerz x WB Bubba.

World Breeders is also currently working with growers in the Rif Mountains of Morocco to develop a line of tripoild seeds. Triploid strains have three sets of chromosomes, as opposed to the traditional diploid varieties with two sets—one from each parent plant. They typically don't collect pollen, and therefore don't produce seeds—most of the bananas we eat are triploid, as well as seedless watermelons. This is important for cannabis, because a female plant that does not get fertilized will keep secreting resin indefinitely throughout the growing season, even if there are male plants in the vicinity. A tripoild line could be a breakthrough for the centuries-old tradition of hashish production in the Rif, and a boon to growers everywhere.

"We are confident that this new line will mark a before-and-after in the genetic development of cannabis, positioning World Breeders as a benchmark for innovation and quality in the sector," predicts Cid Luaces.

But expanding markets in Europe represent the real opportunity on the imminent horizon, Cid Luaces says, pointing to recent moves toward permitting "recreational" cultivation in Portugal and Germany. "What began as a dream of the World Breeders team is now a consolidated reality," he says. "After years of collaboration—often behind the scenes—with some of the most important seed banks at both national and international levels, we are stepping forward and officially presenting ourselves to the market as a seed bank, reaffirming our commitment to genetic excellence and continuous innovation."

This story appears in the winter 2025-6 issue of Cannabis Now

Photo via World Breeders   

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