In countries such as Bangladesh, Kenya and Malawi, tobacco growing is causing economic, environmental, health and even problems among small farm families. Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is funding and working with researchers in those and other countries in an effort to help such farmers switch to healthier crops that will also give them a better economic return. Marc Montgomery speaks with Wardie Leppan, a senior program specialist with IDRC in Ottawa and Farida Akhtar, executive director of UBINIG, a group that helps farmers find alternatives to growing tobacco, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, about the challenges facing small tobacco growers in the developing world.