Female farmers play an important role in rural economies, although they are not always statistically recorded. The aim of this article is to look beyond macro statistics and official figures provided for female farming at European Union level and try to provide a clearer picture of social and economic efficacy and transformation of the situation for women in agriculture at local level. In Greece, one-third of the agricultural holdings belong to female farmers according to the official statistics. However, the official national statistics which monitor women in agriculture give a macro description of the situation, prone to mistakes and obscure readings of the reality. For this purpose, a concerted effort is made to elaborate on the main characteristics of female farms and their transformations at local level through the past years reading beyond the official statistical data and delving into the field research. The above is accomplished by means of local key-informants and qualitative techniques in one of the most dynamic agricultural areas in Greece, and one that holds a percentage of female farms above the national figure. Research shows that the situation for female farmers has improved during the last decade, but they still face a constellation of problems along with social exclusion, especially in villages of the study area with particular cultural characteristics. All in all, it seems that local cultural standards and values affect the overall integration of women in agriculture despite all incentives and contemporary policies.

Women farmers’ experiences are not necessarily homogeneous between contexts, and overall different social structures might have different spillover effects into agriculture. Despite the so‐called ‘feminisation’ of Greek agriculture—manifested as an increase in the proportion of officially registered farm heads being female and recognition of female contribution to farming—the question remains of how fast these changes do transform the role of women in Greek agriculture and how far they reach in terms of changing contested gender identities in a still male‐dominant sector. This article, inspired by the recent work on Feminist Agri‐Food Systems Theory (FAST), tries to shed light on these transformations by collecting official data, working with local experts–informants and conducting in‐depth qualitative interviews with 71 women farmers in Greece. We advocate for indicators of transformation by using women's life stories and the FAST as a theoretical lens. According to our results, the increasing visibility of women in agriculture did not activate any dynamic renegotiation of the hierarchical and pre‐defined gender roles within the family and local society. Overall, multiple roles and tasks remain still challenging in the daily routine of women farmers. However, in contrast to the past, there are different pathways to enter agriculture, and despite all barriers, women's self‐perception as farmers is quite empowered in the study area. They are younger than the national average, their farm size is larger than average, they prefer value‐added production and they seek tailored agricultural extension services and peer‐to‐peer knowledge through informal networks. For the further theoretical development of the FAST model, and advancing the state of the art, we reflect on some additional axes and indicators resulting from its application in the Greek context.

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