Deeper root growth, leading to uptake of otherwise unavailable water, helps the plant to avoid drought by delaying dehydration, but genetic variation and heritability of the trait are essentially unknown for faba bean. Crop management strategies, such as early planting, and appropriate phenology, are particularly important for drought escape in regions where terminal drought is common. Disease resistance is especially important in drought-prone areas to reduce the need for expensive control measures when yields are uncertain. The relevance of soil fertility status and nutrient availability are also covered. Drought escape and ascochyta blight resistance are important breeding objectives for terminal drought regions. Some form of drought resistance is necessary for the transient droughts experienced in most regions, and drought avoidance can be screened by a combination of leaf temperature or other rapid test of stomatal characteristics followed by carbon isotope discrimination in the most valuable materials. No single trait is adequate to improve yield in drought-prone environments, rather, a combination of characteristics is needed.