The Indonesian government committed to restoring over 2 million ha of degraded peatland by the end of 2020, mainly to reduce peat fires and greenhouse gas emissions. Although it is unlikely the government will meet this target, restoration projects are still underway. One restoration strategy involves blocking peatland drainage canals, but the consequences of this for smallholder farmers whose livelihoods are dependent on agriculture are unclear. This paper investigates perceived impacts of canal blocks on smallholder farmers and identifies factors that affect their willingness to accept canal blocks on their land. We use data from 181 household questionnaires collected in 2018 across three villages in Jambi province, Sumatra. We found that the majority of respondents would accept canal blocks on their farms, perceiving that the blocks would have no impact on yields or farm access, and would decrease fire risk. Respondents who would not accept blocks on their farms were more likely to use canals to access their farms and perceive that canal blocks would decrease yields. The majority of farmers unwilling to accept canal blocks did not change their mind when provided with an option of a block that would allow boat travel. Our results improve understanding of why some smallholders may be unwilling to engage with peatland restoration. Further research is needed to understand the impact of canal blocks on smallholders’ yields. Engaging with stakeholders from the outset to understand farmers’ concerns, and perceptions is key if the government is to succeed in meeting its peatland restoration target and to ensure that the costs and benefits of restoration are evenly shared between local stakeholders and other actors.

印度尼西亚政府承诺到 2020 年底恢复超过 200 万公顷的退化泥炭地，主要是为了减少泥炭火灾和温室气体排放。尽管政府不太可能实现这一目标，但恢复项目仍在进行中。一种恢复策略涉及阻塞泥炭地排水渠，但这对以农业为生的小农的后果尚不清楚。本文调查了运河街区对小农的感知影响，并确定了影响他们在其土地上接受运河街区的意愿的因素。我们使用了 2018 年在苏门答腊占碑省三个村庄收集的 181 份家庭问卷的数据。我们发现大多数受访者会接受他们农场的运河街区，认为这些街区不会影响产量或农场准入，并会降低火灾风险。不接受农场街区的受访者更有可能使用运河进入他们的农场，并认为运河街区会降低产量。大多数不愿意接受运河街区的农民在提供允许乘船旅行的街区选项时并没有改变主意。我们的结果加深​​了对为什么一些小农可能不愿意参与泥炭地恢复的理解。需要进一步研究以了解运河区块对小农产量的影响。从一开始就与利益相关者接触以了解农民的担忧，