**Abstract**

The occurrence of drought periods which last for several months is becoming increasingly frequent, even in regions which have not encountered them before. Agricultural production is very sensitive to drought, and in areas where such conditions were rather unexpected, it is also unprepared for limited water management. As an example, in the area of the Biđ-Bosut field located in eastern Croatia, a significant change in the agricultural soil water regime is noticed during a long-term study (2003–2018). From 2003 to 2018, the groundwater level at 4 m below the soil surface showed a decreasing trend of 6–10 cm annually, while this negative trend was even more prominent from 2014 to 2018 (18–71 cm annually). Furthermore, water level in a groundwater aquifer at 15 m below the soil surface showed a decreasing trend of 26–77 cm during 2015–2018. In accordance with the obtained results, this study proposes certain agro-hydrotechnical strategies which can be used in agricultural production to alleviate the effects of drought period. Although these management strategies are primarily described on an eastern continental Croatia example, they can also be applied in all agricultural areas with similar agroecological conditions.

**Keywords:** water availability, agricultural management, groundwater level, irrigation, monitoring
