Mr Felipe da Silva Machado

Biography

I have concluded my PhD research within the Human Geography Department at the University of Plymouth (2015-2019), investigating the metropolitan countryside and farming resilience in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The PhD study explores farmers’ strategies and networks and highlights the importance of sharing, building knowledges, and learning practices in a global era. During my Undergraduate and Masters in Geography at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, I specialized in Rural Geography, exploring the themes of urban and peri-urban agriculture in the Brazilian context and socio-spatial restructuring of metropolitan regions at the rural-urban interface. Currently, I am conducting postdoctoral research at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro on relational rural geographies in Greater Rio and beyond.

Qualifications

2015-2019
PhD in Human Geography, University of Plymouth

PhD thesis: Relational rural geographies, resilience, and narratives of small-scale fruit farming in the metropolitan countryside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Grant: Brazilian Federal Agency for Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Ministry of Education of Brazil

2011- 2013
MSc Geography, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil

Grant: Research Support Foundation of Rio de Janeiro State (FAPERJ)

2006 - 2009
BSc Geography, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil

Grant: National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)

Professional membership

Postgraduate Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)

Member of the Geographical Association

Roles on external bodies

Postgraduate Representative of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Rural Geography Research Group (RGRG) (2018-2019)

Ordinary Member of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Rural Geography Research Group (RGRG) (2019-2022)

Research

Research interests

- Rural Geography

- Geography of agriculture

- Globalization and rural areas

- Agriculture in a global era

- Multifunctional agriculture

- Environmentalism, landscape, and agriculture

- Geography of food

- More than just food

- Farming resilience

- Localism and alternative food networks

- In-between rural places

- Depopulated areas, marginal cultures, and shadow landscape

- Qualitative methodologies

- Participatory methods

- Methodological pluralism

The contested countryside in Rio de Janeiro Metropolis: rethinking agrarian history, farming resilience and food futures

Learning to live with change and uncertainty, and combining different types of knowledge appear critical for building a resilient future. Among the diverse knowledge sources and learning forms that farmers use, Wilson (2010), Darnhofer et al. (2016) and Ingram (2018) have pointed to the particular role of farmers’ experiential learning and networking in increasing the resilience of small-scale farming and sustainability of food systems. In the case of this study, the concept of resilience can overturn dichotomous urban-rural approaches to land use in urban peripheries in which agriculture and localised food systems are commonly viewed as being simply replaced by urban sprawl.

The built-up area of Rio de Janeiro has expanded outward and the metro population increased from 10,389,441 inhabitants in 1991 to 11,835,708 inhabitants in 2010 and to 12,330,186 in 2016 (IBGE, 1991, 2010, 2016). New industrial and petroleum complexes and port facilities were installed on the limits of the metropolitan region last years. Under these circumstances, agriculture became juxtaposed with other functions and interests, which resulted in a mosaic of diversified land use in both inner and outer metropolitan space. Depending on the relative distance from the built-up metropolitan core and local agrarian history, urban and peri-urban farmers actively contest their permanence in a multifunctional countryside (Bicalho, 1998; Bicalho and Machado, 2013, 2018). As a result, in different parts of the Rio de Janeiro metro region, it is common to encounter not just urban conversion but also contested countryside, where farmers resist and adapt to urban encroachment.

References

Bicalho, A.M. (1998): Sustainable metropolitan agriculture in Brazil. In: Bowler, I.R., Bryant, C. and Huigen, P.P.P. (eds), Dimensions of Sustainable Rural Systems. Groningen: Reijkuniversiteit Groningen, p. 97-104.

Bicalho, A.M. and Machado, F.S. (2013): Do agrário ao periurbano: o município de Cachoeiras de Macacu na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Geografia (Rio Claro), 38: 545-564.

Bicalho, A.M. and Machado, F.S. (2018): Beyond the peripheral countryside: farming resilience in Greater Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Paper presented at the III International Conference on Agriculture and Food in an Urbanizing Society. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Darnhofer, I., Lamine, C., Strauss, A. and Navarrete, M. (2016): The resilience of family farms: towards a relational approach. Journal of Rural Studies, 44: 111-122.

IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) (1991, 2010): Censo Demográfico. Rio de Janeiro.

IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) (2016): IBGE Divulga Estimativa populacionais dos Municípios em 2016. Rio de Janeiro.

Ingram, J. (2018): Agricultural transition: niche and regime knowledge systems’ boundary dynamics. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 26: 117-135.

Wilson, G. (2010): Multifunctional ‘quality’ and rural community resilience. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 35 (3): 364–381.

Grants & contracts

2015-2019 Fully funded PhD student of the Brazilian Federal Agency for Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Ministry of Education of Brazil (ca £115.000).

2019 Travel Grant awarded by the Royal Geographical Society Rural Geography Research Group to attend the Quadrennial Conference of British, Canadian, and American Rural Geographers, Vermont, US (£300).

2019 Travel Grant awarded by the Royal Geographical Society Rural Geography Research Group to attend the Royal Geographical Society Postgraduate Mid-term Conference, Manchester, UK (£133).

2019 Travel Stipend Award for the International Geographical Union Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems (IGU-CSRS) Colloquium, Minnesota, US (£400).

Publications

Article in Journals

Machado, F.S. 2018. Globalização e resiliência da agricultura na hinterlândia rural do Rio de Janeiro: um relato de pesquisa de campo. Campo-Território, 13, 286-296.

Machado, F.S. 2018. A interface rural-urbana e o trabalho de campo no currículo de Geografia do Ensino Médio. Revista Perspectivas em Educação Básica, 2, 95-103.

Machado, F.S. 2017. Rural change in the context of globalization: examining theoretical issues. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin, 66, 43-53.

Machado, F.S. 2016. Da economia política às questões contemporâneas da geografia rural na globalização: um relato de pesquisa de doutorado pleno no Reino Unido. Campo-Território, 11, 400-410.

Machado, F.S. 2015. Epistemologia científica na abordagem locacional do modelo de Von Thünen. Observatorium, 7, 94-107.

Machado, F.S. 2014. Agricultura e reestruturação espacial na interface rural-urbana: questões teórico-metodológicas centrais à pesquisa. Campo-Território, 9, 194-229.

Bicalho, A.M.S.M.; Machado, F.S. 2013. Do agrário ao periurbano: o município de Cachoeiras de Macacu na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Geografia (Rio Claro), 38, 545-564.

Machado, F.S. 2012. Desenvolvimento rural e reestruturação espacial na interação rural-urbana: considerações teóricas. Geografias (UFMG), 8, 122-130.

Machado, F.S. 2011. Uma nota sobre a Geografia Agrária na interface rural-urbana. Observatorium, 6, 160-165.

Machado, F.S. 2010. Variação espacial da produção agrícola na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Observatorium, 5, 88-113.

Machado, F.S. 2010. Dinâmica da agricultura periurbana no município de Nova Iguaçu (Rio de Janeiro). GeoPuc (Rio de Janeiro), 5, 1-31.

Chapters in edited books

Machado, F.S. 2018. Approaching farming resilience in the rural hinterland of Rio de Janeiro and beyond: methodological pluralism in fieldwork research. In: Valerià Paül Carril; Rubén Camilo Lois González; Juan Manuel Trillo Santamaría; Fiona Haslam McKenzie. (eds). Infinite Rural Systems in a Finite Planet: Bridging Gaps towards Sustainability. 1ed.Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, pp. 107-115.

Machado, F.S. 2016. Multifuncionalidade na dinâmica recente do espaço rural no estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). In: Ángel Raúl Ruiz Pulpón; Manuel Antonio Serrano de la Cruz Santos-Olmo; Julio Plaza Tabasco. (eds). Treinta años de Política Agraria Común en España. Agricultura y multifuncionalidad en el contexto de la nueva ruralidad. 1ed.Ciudad Real, Espanha: Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles (Grupo de Geografía Rural), Óptima Diseño e Impresión, pp. 605-619.

Papers presented 2015-2019

Machado, F.S. Agricultural learning, farmer knowledge, and rural innovation: researching the relational geography of small-scale fruit farming in Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region. In: Postgraduate Research Showcase, University of Plymouth, 2019.

Machado, F.S. Rural change and agriculture pathways in the metropolitan context of emerging economies: engaging small-scale farming in Rio de Janeiro hinterland, Brazil. In: Cambridge Global Food Security Symposium, University of Cambridge, 2019.

Machado, F.S. The hybrid (rural) geography of metropolitan regions: farming systems and the diversified countryside in Greater Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In: Royal Geographical Society Postgraduate Mid-term Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2019.

Bicalho, A.M.S.M.; Machado, F.S. Beyond the peripheral countryside: farming resilience in Greater Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). In: III International Conference on Agriculture and Food in an Urbanizing Society. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2018.

Machado, F.S. Family farming in the rural hinterland of Rio de Janeiro and beyond: a critical understanding of resilience in a global era. In: Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers - Annual International Conference, Cardiff, UK, 2018.

Bicalho, A.M.S.M.; Machado, F.S. Localism and small-scale dairy farming in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). In: Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) Conference, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 2018.

Machado, F.S. New directions in Rural Geography (and beyond): researching farming resilience and local governance in the Brazilian metropolitan context. In: International Conference Fifty Years of Local Governance, International Geographical Union Commission on Geography of Governance, Lisboa, Portugal, 2018.

Machado, F.S. For a relational and translocal rural geography in Brazil: engaging narratives of small-scale farming and resilience in Greater Rio de Janeiro. Hunch, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, UK, 2018.

Machado, F.S. Reconciling farming community agency and global driving forces in the rural hinterland of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). In: Sustainable Earth, 2018, University of Plymouth, UK, 2018.

Machado, F.S. Global critical issues on farming systems: approaching globalization and social resilience in Rio hinterland (Brazil). In: Brazilian Regionalism in a Global Context Workshop, University of Birmingham, UK, 2018.

Machado, F.S. Farmers’ life histories, transitions, and development pathways: recognizing resilient small-scale farming systems in the rural hinterland of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). In: Grassroots to Global: Development from Below Conference, Coventry University, UK, 2018.

Machado, F.S. Globalization, family farming and social resilience in the Brazilian metropolitan context and beyond. In: X Abep-UK (Association of Brazilian Postgraduate Students and Researchers in the United Kingdom) Annual Conference, London, UK, 2018.

Machado, F.S. When a rural geographer goes back from fieldwork research: evaluating an academic partnership with farming communities in Rio's hinterland (Brazil). In: The Postgraduate Society Research Showcase, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK, 2018.

Machado, F.S. Farming resilience in the context of globalization: the case of Rio's hinterland (Brazil). In: Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers, New Orleans, US, 2018.

Machado, F.S. Globalization in a rural context: addressing contemporary rural paradigm in Brazil. In: Sustainable Earth 2017: a global forum connecting research with action, Plymouth, UK, 2017.

Machado, F.S. Going back to the land through WWOOF (World Wide Opportunity on Organic Farm): exploring rural change in the era of globalization. In: Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) Postgraduate Winter School - In association with University of Gloucestershire, Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers, Gloucestershire, UK, 2017.

Machado, F.S. Understanding rural resilience in globalization: (multiple) approaches, methods, and scale analysis. In: Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) Postgraduate Winter School - In association with University of Gloucestershire, Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers, Gloucestershire, UK, 2017.

Machado, F.S. Rural restructuring, social resilience, and globalization: examining the global countryside in Brazil. In: IX Abep-UK (Association of Brazilian Postgraduate Students and Researchers in the United Kingdom) Annual Conference, London, UK, 2017.

Machado, F.S. Going back to Brazil for fieldwork: researching the rural on the ground. In: The Postgraduate Society Research Showcase, Plymouth University, UK, 2017.

Machado, F.S. Researching rural resilience in the era of globalization: evidence from Brazil. Hunch, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University, UK, 2017.

Machado, F.S. (Re) positioning rural geography in globalization: from a political economy approach to contemporary debates. In: XXI Plymouth University Postgraduate Society Conference, Plymouth, UK, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Rural transition in transition economies (Brazil): theories surrounding global rural change. In: XI Plymouth Doctoral Colloquium, Plymouth, UK, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Rural restructuring and conflict of land use in the context of globalization: theoretical issues concerning rural policies in developing countries (Brazil). In: International Conference on Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Land Use, Budapest, Hungary, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Global multifunctional countryside: debates concerning rural change in transition economies (Brazil). In: Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) Postgraduate Winter School - In association with University of Gloucestershire, Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers, Cheltenham, UK, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Rural restructuring in the context of economic globalization: the differentiated countryside in Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil). In: Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers Postgraduate Forum Mid-term Conference, Newcastle, UK, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Rural Geography and globalization: building a theoretical approach from Brazil in the contemporary world. In: VIII ABEP Conference (Association of Brazilian Postgraduate Students and Researchers in the United Kingdom), King's College London, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Organic agriculture and volunteering in South West England (UK): participatory action research in the context of the global countryside. In: XXIV Annual Colloquium of the IGU (International Geographical Union) Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems, Liège, Belgium, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Rural restructuring, conflict of land use, and spatial diversity: the complexity of the countryside in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area (Brazil). In: International Conference on Land Use and Rural Sustainability, 2016, Xi'an, China, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Beyond soybean fields: rural diversity and resilience in Grande Dourados Region, Central-Western Brazil. In: XXXIII International Geographical Congress (IGU-UGI), Beijing, China, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Multifunctionality, resilience, and globalization: building a theoretical perspective from Brazil in the context of rural change. In: XXXIII International Geographical Congress (IGU-UGI), Beijing, China, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Geography of rural change: the Brazilian countryside in the context of global multifunctionality. In: Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers - Annual International Conference, London, 2016.

Machado, F. S. When I was a volunteer on organic farms: exploring empirical knowledge in the contemporary rural. In: The Postgraduate Society Research Showcase, Plymouth University, Plymouth, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Multifuncionalidade na dinâmica recente do espaço rural no estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). In: XVIII Colóquio de Geografia Rural e I Colóquio Internacional de Geografia Rural, Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles, Ciudad Real, Spain, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Amazônia multifuncional: política ambiental, conflito de uso da terra e exclusão social no Oeste do Pará (Brasil). In: XI Iberian Conference on Rural Studies. Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Desenvolvimento rural e multifuncionalidade: questões teórico-conceituais da transição rural em economias em transição (Brasil). In: XI Iberian Conference on Rural Studies. Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal, 2016.

Machado, F.S. Transitions in the global countryside: contemporary debates surrounding rural change. In: XIX Plymouth University Postgraduate Society Conference, Plymouth, 2015.

Conferences attended 2015-2019

Postgraduate Research Showcase, University of Plymouth, UK, 2019.

Cambridge Global Food Security Symposium, University of Cambridge, UK, 2019.

Royal Geographical Society Postgraduate Mid-term Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, 2019.

Grow Green: Farming for a Plant-Strong Future, British Library, UK, 2019.

Integrating Food into Urban Planning, University College London, UK, 2019.

International Conference Fifty Years of Local Governance, International Geographical Union Commission on Geography of Governance, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, 2018.

International Symposium on the Global Countryside, Gregynog Hall, Wales, 2018.

Learning from Latin American Alternatives, Aberystwyth University, Wales, 2018.

Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) Conference, University of Oxford, UK, 2018.

Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers Annual International Conference, Cardiff, Wales, 2018.

XXVI Annual Colloquium of the Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems, International Geographical Union, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 2018.

Sustainable Earth, University of Plymouth, UK, 2018.

Brazilian Regionalism in a Global Context Workshop, University of Birmingham, UK, 2018.

Grassroots to Global: Development from Below Conference, Coventry University, UK, 2018.

Building Sustainable Food Futures: global and local action to overcome today's system failures, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, 2018.

Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers, New Orleans, US, 2018.

The Postgraduate Society Research Showcase, Plymouth University, UK, 2018.

X Abep-UK (Association of Brazilian Postgraduate Students and Researchers in the United Kingdom) Annual Conference, University College London, UK, 2018.

Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) Postgraduate Winter School 2017 - In association with University of Gloucestershire, Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers, Gloucestershire, UK, 2017.

ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Doctoral Training Centre 2017 London Conference: Knowledge and Networking, UCL, University of London, UK, 2017.

Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Event Plymouth University, UK, 2017.

The Postgraduate Society Research Showcase, Plymouth University, UK, 2017.

Oxford Food Forum. Beyond the silo: understanding and building linkages across the food system. University of Oxford, UK, 2017.

Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers Postgraduate Forum Mid-term Conference, Cardiff, UK, 2017.

South West GRADschool residential development course for Doctoral researchers, Brecon Beacons, UK, 2017.

Sustainable Earth 2017: a global forum connecting research with action, Plymouth University, UK, 2017.

The Postgraduate Society Research Showcase, Plymouth University, UK, 2017.

Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) Postgraduate Winter School 2016 - In association with University of Gloucestershire, Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers, Cheltenham, UK, 2016.

European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) Autumn School, Newtown, Wales, UK, 2016.

II Plymouth University s Doctoral Training Centres Annual Conference (Social Science) Plymouth, 2016.

International Conference on Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Land Use, Budapest, Hungary, 2016.

International Conference on Land Use and Rural Sustainability, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. 2016.

Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers - Annual International Conference, London, UK, 2016.

Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers Postgraduate Forum Mid-term Conference, Newcastle, UK, 2016.

The Postgraduate Society Research Showcase, Plymouth University, UK, 2016.

VIII ABEP Conference (Association of Brazilian Postgraduate Students and Researchers in the United Kingdom), King's College London, UK, 2016.

XI Plymouth Doctoral Colloquium, Plymouth, UK, 2016.

XXI Plymouth University Postgraduate Society Conference, Plymouth, UK, 2016.

XXIV Annual Colloquium of the IGU (International Geographical Union) Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems, Liège, Belgium, 2016.

XXXIII International Geographical Congress (IGU-UGI), Beijing, China. 2016.

XI Iberian Conference on Rural Studies, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal, 2016.

XVIII Colóquio de Geografia Rural e I Colóquio Internacional de Geografia Rural, Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles, Universidade Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Spain, 2016.

XIX Plymouth University Postgraduate Society Conference, Plymouth, UK, 2015.

Personal

Conferences organised

Machado, F.S.; Budy, F. New and Emerging Rural Researchers, Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers Annual International Conference, 2019.

Additional information

A leading motivation for my research is to contribute to growing social and political awareness of the complex global and local impacts of food decisions on rural landscapes and communities, through enhancing conceptual and practical understandings of how communities and governments can work collaboratively to nurture a multifunctional and sustainable global countryside.

Profiles

Teaching & Support Assistant

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)