Plant development has been evaluated at various developmental stages, from the early steps of embryogenesis to flowering. In most reports, transcription factors have been thought to play a master regulatory role in the complex networks orchestrating organogenesis. Although these efforts have increased our understanding of several major developmental pathways, our understanding of the relationships between metabolism and development remains limited. Recently, we identified a straightforward relationship linking carbohydrate metabolism and organogenesis. We found that plant development, particularly the reactivation of cell cycling after germination and the transition from heterotrophic to autotrophic growth, are highly dependent on sucrose availability. In the case of Arabidopsis thaliana, an oilseed species, we characterized the importance of cytosolic inorganic pyrophosphate hydrolysis for the success of the above transition and appropriate execution of postembryonic developmental programs. While this unprecedented and unique discovery has addressed fundamental issues concerning the biological role of the proton-pyrophosphatase (H⁺-PPase), it has also raised questions regarding the link between metabolism and development. Here, we summarize our present knowledge of key steps in the mobilization of storage lipids and their impact together with H⁺-PPase during the heterotrophic-autotrophic growth transition.